Lorenzo and Isabella by John Everett Millais, 1849.
This work illustrates John Keats poem Isabella, whose work the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood much admired.
Foresight
Julia Margaret Cameron, Photographer.
Julia Margaret Cameron began taking photos on her 48 birthday and when photography was still in its infancy. Not only was she among the first to use photography as an art, but she also copyrighted and kept excellent records of her photographs. Julia Jackson was her niece and namesake, and later Jackson would become the mother of the author Virginia Woolf.
Not What it Seems
Prosperity - The Holy Place by Damien Hirst, 2006.
This work is created out of butterflies and the perfect symmetry of the insects is mirrored in the perfect symmetry of the work. At first glance it appears to be a stained glass window.
Detail
Sweet Joy
William Blake, Infant Joy, From the Songs of Innocence, 1789.
'I have no name;
I am but two days old.'
What shall I call thee?
'I happy am,
Joy is my name.'
Sweet joy befall thee!
Pretty joy!
Sweet joy, but two days old.
Sweet joy I call thee:
Thou dost smile,
I sing the while;
Sweet joy befall thee!
Can This Marriage Be Saved?
William Hogarth, The Marriage Contract, from the Marriage a la Mode series,1745, Tate Gallery, London.
Hogarth is known for his satire and was one of the most innovative artists of the 18th century. His art was made for the common man, largely to teach moral lessons.
Apple Blossoms
Spring (Apple Blossoms) by John Everett Millais.
Millais is one of the founding members of the 19th century British artist group known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He achieved the most fame of the group and eventually came to lead the Royal Academy he had rebelled against.
Pre-Pre-Raphaelite
The Last of England by Ford Madox Brown, Tate Collection
Brown was a huge influence on the Pre-Raphaelites. He is often grouped together with them even though he was considerably older than them and had been working for years. He received his training in Belgium and Paris.
For the Birds
Saint Francis and the Birds, 1935 by Sir Stanley Spencer.
St. Francis seems to be given a comical take as he appears to admonish the heavens for giving him the admiration of the animals, in this particular case, birds. The model for St. Francis was the artist's father who is shown wearing a bathrobe rather than the monk's robe St. Francis would have worn.
May I Borrow Your Pen?
The Castlereagh Inkstand, 1818-1820, Paul Storr and Philip Rundell, London, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
This was a political gift given in recognition for the diplomatic and and negotiating skills of Viscount Castlereagh in negotiating alliances against Napoleon.
Fruit Selling Gone Wrong
Frontispiece for Goblin Market, 1933 by Arthur Rackham.
Rackham's illustrations for Christina Rossetti's poem are full of the detail that make his artwork popular with young and old, alike.
What is Love?
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
April Love, 1855-56 by Arthur Hughes.
Hughes accompanied this painting with a poem by Tennyson called The Miller's Daughter. I love the vibrant purple of the dress, it just pops out of the painting.
The Return
Peace Concluded, 1856 by John Everett Millais.
This scene marks the end of the Crimean War and the return home of the soldier to his family.
On the mother's lap, four animals from the toy Noah's Ark represent the four belligerents: Britain (lion), Russia (bear), the Ottoman Empire (turkey), and France (rooster).
The father holds the newspaper that announces the end of the war.
This post is in honor of all the fathers (and mothers) who sadly cannot celebrate with their families because they are still fighting a war.
Hiding in Plain Sight
The Two Gentleman of Verona Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus by William Holman Hunt.
One of the original Pre-Raphaelites, Hunt takes his subject from a Shakespeare play. The PRB liked to get their subjects from literature and to paint out of doors in natural light. I'm sure the model for Sylvia Elizabeth Siddal, had sore knees.
A World of His Own Design
The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke, 1855-64 by Richard Dadd.
Richard Dadd was known as "Mad Dadd" he spent much of his life in an insane asylum after murdering his father whom he was convinced was the devil. His intricate paintings took him years to complete.
Its Not Gotten Better, Its Gotten Worse
Just What Makes Today's Homes, So Different, So Appealing? , 1956 by Richard Hamilton.
Hamilton's collage about overblown 1950's consumerism also hailed the use of the word Pop in reference to art. He is still an innovator, creating his new art with computers.
Anatomy of a Horse
Mares and Foals in a River Landscape, 1763-8 by George Stubbs.
Stubbs spent hours studying the musculature and skeletal structures of the animals he painted in order so that his portrayals would be as life-like as possible.
Long Trip
The Travelling Companions by Augustus Leopold Egg.
Egg was an actor and his dramatic training shows in his artwork. He painted subjects from literature. He was a close friend of Charles Dickens and performed in his stage productions.
Joy of Spring
Spring, 1895 byLawrence Alma Tadema, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu CA
In a land of clear colours and stories,
In a region of shadowless hours,
Where Earth has a garment of glories
And a murmur of musical flowers.
This poem by Algernon Swinburne (a favorite of Victorian painters especially the Pre-Raphaelites) is engraved on the frame of the painting.
Spring, Lawrence Alma-Tadema (detail)
Controversy
The Peacock Room, 1877 by James McNeill Whistler, Freer Gallery, Smithsonian.
Whistler, in his usual flamboyant and arrogant manner, took his decoration of this London dining room to such an extreme, he angered and the patron and made their argument public.
Butterfly
Acacias, c.1880 by Albert Moore.
Moore was influenced by the Elgin Marbles (Parthenon statuary which had recently arrived in London at the British Museum - where they remain and are the source of much controversy).