The first, was Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s ‘Dante’s Dream’, which was completed in 1871. It is a depiction of Rossetti’s intense interest in the Italian poet, Dante. It is an interpretation of Dante’s dream in which he is lead by a physical ‘Love’ to the death bed of Beatrice; an object of his unrequited passion and love. It is his largest painting, combining rich and soft colours and complex symbols that require us to interpret them.
The model for Beatrice was Jane Morris, (the wife of William Morris… the guy who did the wallpaper) a lady in which Rossetti had a long term affair and obsession with.
Everything is symbolic; the ladies in green are symbolic of hope, whilst the spring blossoms signify purity. The doves indicate the presence of love, whilst the poppies are symbolic of sleep, dreams and death. I found all of them interesting, but it is fascinating to me how Rossetti made no attempt to disguise his obvious obsession with Morris. Maybe it was his way of saying he fancied her…?
.. Joke.
The second was William Holman Hunts ‘The Triumph of the Innocents’, oil on linen, thought to have been completed in 1891. It depicts a day’s journey en-route to Gaza from Bethlehem. Compared to his earlier works (‘Scapegoat’, ‘Finding of the saviour in the temple’) Hunt separates the foreground and background; more attention is drawn to the haloed infants in the foreground, who are illuminated by a supernatural glow.
Hunt had originally intended to light the painting with moonlight, but later felt that would be too monotonous. He strived to reproduce the event with such precision; to reach the closest possible depiction of how the event may have actually looked, from a religious view point of course. The painting was designed to awaken the viewers religious emotions, and designed specifically for us to question whether or not these biblical events had actually taken place.
The third was by John Everett Millais; ‘Lorenzo and Isabella’ was Millais’s first Pre-Raphaelite painting, completed during 1948-1949, when he was just 19 years old. It was inspired by the John Keats poem, ‘Isabella’. It is loaded with tragic and ironic symbolism; most notably showing Lorenzo how he is to die. The story starts with Lorenzo and Isabella keeping their love a secret, Isabella’s brothers find out and plot to kill him, then take him to the woods and murder him, Isabella has a dream in which she see’s the murder take place, rushes to she spot where the body is, cuts off Lorenzo’s head and places it in a flower pot in which the basil grows (you know… as you do) her brothers then eventually discover this and flee to Florence out of shame and guilt.
The symbolism can be seen in the dog affectionately nuzzling Isabella; symbolic of devotion; being kicked by her snarling brother. Who, has a questionable shadow appearing from his crotch… referencing the artist actually had a sense of humour! The expressions of the rest of the family’s face look pretty smug; sensing they are satisfied with their plot. The brother on the left side of the table holds out a glass of blood red wine, whose gaze seems to be firmly fixed on Lorenzo. The spilled salt on the table is symbolic of the blood that is to be spilled later. The painting is actually overloaded with symbolism… you get the gist! A chair is carved with the initials PRB (Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood) this shows Millais was involved and initiated with the brotherhood.
Here is an extract from the Keats poem:
'Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel!
Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love's eye!
They could not in the self-same mansion dwell
Without some stir of heart, some malady;
They could not sit at meals but feel how well
It soothed each to be the other by.
These brethren having found by many signs
What love Lorenzo for their sister had,
And how she lov'd him too, each unconfines
His bitter thoughts to other, well nigh mad
That he, the servant of their trade designs
Should in their sister's love be blithe and glad
When 'twas their plan to coax her by degrees
To some high noble and his olive trees.'
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