Poetic Pairings: November 2015

Lady Lilith Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1868

Lilith or Body's Beauty

Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told

(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)

That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,

And her enchanted hair was the first gold.

And still she sits, young while the earth is old,

And, subtly of herself contemplative,

Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,

Till heart and body and life are in its hold.

The rose and poppy are her flowers; for where

Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent

And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?

Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went

Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent

And round his heart one strangling golden hair.

Dante Gabriel Rosetti

This sonnet appears on the lower portion of this painting's frame.

Great article about the poem here

Poetic Pairing: May 2014

April Love 1855-56 Arthur Hughes

The Miller's Daughter

 

It is the miller's daughter,

And she is grown so dear, so dear,

That I would be the jewel

That trembes in her ear;

For hid in ringlets day and night,

I'd touch her neck so warm and white.

 

And I would be the girdle

About her dainty dainty waist,

And her heart would beat against me,

In sorrow and I in rest;

And I should known if it beat right,

I'd clasp it round so close and tight.

 

And I would be the necklace,

And all day long to fall and rise

 Upon her balmy bosom,

With her laughter or her sighs;

And I would lie so light, so light,

I scarce should be unclasp'd at night.

Love that hath us in the net,

Can he pass, and we forget?

Many suns arise and set;

Many a chance the years beget;

Love the gift is Love the debt.

Even so.

 Love is hurt, with jar and fret;

Love is made a vague regret;

Eyes with idle tears are wet;

Idle habit links us yet.

 What is love? for we forget:

Ah no! no!

Alfred Lord Tennyson

When this painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856 the last six lines of this poem were placed alongside it.

Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde - Get it before it's gone

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is really where my interest in art history began. The Royal Academies exhibition Pre-Raphaelite and other Masters: the Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection in 2003 was the exhibition that first left me really wanting to know all I possibly could about the paintings, the painters and the subjects of the works hanging on the walls around me. Since then I have been to lots of other inspiring exhibitions and studied some fascinating periods of art history but I have always maintained a fondness for Rossetti and the gang.

At the age of 13 I was only really able to appreciate the beauty of the paintings, the vibrant colours, the elaborate textures and the incredible natural details. Of course these aspects are all present in this exhibition and the paintings are a feast for the senses particularly the fifth room which focuses upon the groups preoccupation with beauty.

One of my personal faves

But the exhibition does not rest upon it's laurels and merely present a 'beautiful' exhibition, it seeks to reexamine the brotherhood within their context, looking at their interest in science, contemporary theology and concerns with contemporary morals and society and how their paintings, sculpture and decorative objects express these concerns. The exhibition challenges the viewer to see past the beautiful and luxurious images which give the impression of artists merely attempting to paint sentimental scenes and instead presents the idea that the brotherhood were breaking new ground through their engagement with the present.

One of the most interesting aspects of the exhibition for me was the inclusion of painted furniture and stunning tapestries which I had not seen presented alongside the paintings before. It certainly gave you an impression of the breadth of their influence upon British art, particularly the arts and crafts movement. 

This stunning wardrobe painted by Edward Burne-Jones is just one magnificent example of this.

The exhibition was huge and packed with things to see, read and engage with, frankly there are some paintings there that you could stare at for hours and continue to notice details you had missed. The magnificent Lady of Shallot in the final room being an excellent example. I did hear several viewers lament that it was not the more famous John William Waterhouse representation of the Tennyson poem, however I found myself almost preferring the drama of Holman Hunts work lesser known work, the billowing red hair, the chaotic floor, the vibrant colours and the thread from her weaving strewn around her. Don't know what you think?

The Lady of Shalott John William Waterhouse

The Lady of Shalott William Holman Hunt

But the details I think shouldn't be missed, and most often were, were the poems engraved on many of the paintings frames. Reading these, often written by the artists themselves, gives you a new insight into the painting and the wider work of the brotherhood.

It has taken me woefully long to get to this exhibition between getting back from traveling and the chaos of working in retail during Christmas so if you read this and it peaks your interest then get down there quick as the exhibition ends on the 13th. The galleries advice regarding tickets for the last days is that the advance booking tickets are sold out but that they can be bough on the door on the day (in the morning to avoid disappointment). If you are reading from Russia then lucky you as the exhibition is traveling to Moscow's Pushkin museum in July of this year.

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/pre-raphaelites-victorian-avant-garde