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Library | Shelf Number | Material Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Westville Library | 759.05 MARS | Non Fiction | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
This book examines the real nature of Pre-Raphaelite women's lives and their influence in the Pre-Raphelite circle, exploring the inexorable link between life and art.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
YA A timely aspect of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Marsh not only explores the meticulously painted romantic subjects and narratives but also describes the women who were associated with the movementmodels, wives and lovers, as well as women painters (and one photographer) and shows their very definitive influence on this elegant period in English art and literature. The profuse and beautiful illustrations and the many fine drawings set off a text which carefully relates the descriptive chapter headings to the important literary references of prose and poetry. The chapter titled ``Sorceresses'' shows a painting by John William Waterhouse illustrating Keats' poem ``La Belle Dame Sans Merci''; and the chapter ``Pale Ladies of Death'' depicts Shakespeare's Ophelia. Literary, Biblical, and mythological narratives are the sources for most of the idealized heroines. Portraits of these well-recognized women of the time are exhibited in dramatic settings. A captivating book for students researching literature or art of 19th-Century England. Jenni Elliott , Episcopal High School, Bellaire (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Choice Review
In the mid-19th century, seven members of a semisecret society called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood created a sensitive account of feminine beauty. Inspired by love, art, and poetry, the Brotherhood's three major artists-Millais, Hunt, and Rossetti-captured the dual characteristics of the Victorian woman. Both enchantress and saint, sorrowful and aspiring, real and yet imaginary, these ``darlings'' of the Pre-Raphaelite artists were painted as youthful and dreamy; virginal, but glamorous. Jan Marsh explores with rich language the intricate involvement of the artists and their female models, pointing out the importance of their emotional intensity and Bohemian life-style. Stressing the significance of the inspirations, verbal, visual, and symbolic that guided the Victorian artist, Marsh shows how the models became the inspiration and Muse for this period of artistic creativity. Always dwelling on the dual nature of these enigmatic beauties, Marsh enhances through detailed description the information already available about these artists. Intensifying her text with excellent color reproductions, she is able to bring forth beautifully the poetic and romantic aspects of the imagery that dominated the male imagination for more than 50 years. These Pre-Raphaelite women become metaphors as well as the archetypes. Recommended.-I. Spalatin, East Texas State University