#english painter

[preraphaelitepaintings]

Venus Verticordia

Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti (English, 1828–1882)

Date: 1864–1868

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset, England

Description

The title of the painting refers to a quotation from the Roman poet Ovid, who describes one of Venus’ attributes as being able to assist Roman women to turn their hearts towards virtue and modesty. This does seem somewhat contradictory for such a heavily sensual and sexual image, but perhaps it is a warning of the dangers of sexual obsession.

The painting is heavy in symbolism. Venus is surrounded by flowers, the roses represent love, while the honeysuckle symbolizes sexual desire and lust. The golden fruit may be seen as the fruit that tempted Eve and led to Adam’s downfall in the Garden of Eden. Alternatively, it may be interpreted as the Apple of Discord from the Greek myth of the Judgement of Paris. In both stories, the presence of a tempting fruit in the company of a beautiful women leads to the downfall and death of men.

Venus points Cupid’s arrow at her own breast to show how she will inflict its power over others. A blue bird in the top right corner foretells doom. The moths or butterflies drawn to the light of Venus’ halo, only to perish, illustrate the brevity of life. There is a golden aura around her head, her hair is long and flaming red. A hair colouring favoured by Rossetti, the other Pre-Raphaelites and their followers. Red hair was chosen because of its rarity, and associations with excessive emotions for example sexual desire.

[solcattus]

Perfect Harmony, 1894

By Louis Welden Hawkins

[lepetitdragonvert]

Chilvaric Love

Artist : William Dacres Adams (1864-1951)

[galleryofart]

A Garden

Artist: Albert Moore (English, 1841–1893)

Date: 1869

Medium: OIl on Canvas

Collection: TATE Britain

Description

Albert Moore was influenced by Japanese art. He produced decorative and subtly coloured pictures. He focuses on the colour, texture and movement of draped fabric on the woman’s costume. Art critic Sidney Colvin said Moore’s subjects were ‘merely a mechanism for getting beautiful people into beautiful situations.’ Moore used the flower-like symbol at the bottom of the picture as a signature.

[the-cricket-chirps]

J.M.W. Turner, Snow Storm - Steamboat off a Harbour's Mouth, 1842

J.M.W. Turner, Peace - Burial at Sea, 1842

[artemlegere]

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Said the Lady of Shalott

Artist: John William Waterhouse (English, 1849–1917)

Date: 1915

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Description

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Said the Lady of Shalott is a painting by John William Waterhouse completed in 1915. It is the third painting by Waterhouse that depicts a scene from the Tennyson poem, "The Lady of Shalott". The title of the painting is a quotation from the last two lines in the fourth and final verse of the second part of Tennyson's poem:

But in her web she still delights To weave the mirror’s magic sights, For often thro’ the silent nights A funeral, with plumes and lights And music, came from Camelot: Or when the moon was overhead Came two young lovers lately wed; 'I am half sick of shadows,' said The Lady of Shalott.

The painting shows the Lady of Shalott resting from her weaving.

The lady wears a red dress, in a room with Romanesque columns holding up the arches of the window reflected in the mirror. The frame of the loom and the geometric tiles of the floor lead the viewer into the room, where reds, yellows and blues echo the more vivid colours outside. A single poppy can be seen reflected in the mirror. The shuttles of the loom resemble boats, foreshadowing the Lady's death.

[pen-and-umbra]

Le Pandemonium

(John Martin, 1841)

[myteaplace]

Circe Invidiosa, 1892, John William Waterhouse (1883-1917)

[artandthebible]

Naomi and Ruth

Artist: Evelyn De Morgan (English, 1855–1919)

Date: 1887

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Naomi and Ruth

The story of Naomi appears in the Bible in the book of Ruth. Naomi lived during the time of the judges. She was the wife of a man named Elimelech, and they lived in Bethlehem with their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. Naomi’s life illustrates the power of God to bring something good out of bitter circumstances.

When a famine hits Judea, Elimelech and Naomi and their two boys relocate to Moab (Ruth 1:1). There, Mahlon and Kilion marry two Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After about ten years, tragedy strikes. Elimelech dies, and both of Naomi’s sons also die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah widows (Ruth 1:3–5). Naomi, hearing that the famine in Judea was over, decides to return home (Ruth 1:6). Orpah stays in Moab, but Ruth chooses to move to the land of Israel with Naomi. The book of Ruth is the story of Naomi and Ruth returning to Bethlehem and how Ruth married a man named Boaz and bore a son, Obed, who became the grandfather of David and the ancestor of Jesus Christ.

The name Naomi means “sweet, pleasant,” which gives us an idea of Naomi’s basic character. We see her giving her blessing to Ruth and Orpah when she tells them to return to their mothers’ homes so that they might find new husbands: she kisses them and asks that the Lord deal kindly with them (Ruth 1:8–14). But her heartache in Moab was more than Naomi could bear. When she and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem, the women of the town greet Naomi by name, but she cries, “Don’t call me Naomi... Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me” (Ruth 1:20–21). The name Mara means “bitter.” The cup of affliction is a bitter cup, but Naomi understood that the affliction came from the God who is sovereign in all things. Little did she know that from this bitter sorrow great blessings would come to her, her descendants, and the world through Jesus Christ.

Ruth meets a local landowner, Boaz, who is very kind to her. Naomi again recognizes the providence of God in providing a kinsman-redeemer for Ruth. Naomi declares that the Lord “has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead" (Ruth 2:20) Seeing God’s hand in these events, Naomi encourages Ruth to go to Boaz as he slept in the threshing floor in order to request that he redeem her and her property. Naomi’s concern was for Ruth’s future, that Ruth would gain a husband and provider.

Naomi’s bitterness is turned to joy. In the end, she gains a son-in-law who would provide for both her and Ruth. She also becomes a grandmother to Ruth’s son, Obed. Then the women of Bethlehem say to Naomi, “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth” (Ruth 4:14–15). Naomi was no longer Mara. Her life again became sweet and pleasant, blessed by God.

[thepaintedroom]

Jessica Hayllar (British/English, 1858-1940) • Fresh from the Greenhouse • 1885

[mythologypaintings]

Circe Envidiosa

Artist: John William Waterhouse (English, 1849-1917)

Date: 1892

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

Description

The myth of Circe, Glaucus, and Scylla originates in Book XIV of Metamorphoses. The specific scene that Waterhouse bases this painting on occurs in lines 52–65 of the epic poem:

There was a cove, a little inlet shaped like a bent bow, a quiet place where Scylla, at midday, sought shelter when the sea and sky were hot; and, in midcourse, the sun scorched with full force, reducing shadows to a narrow thread. And Circe now contaminates this bay, polluting it with noxious poisons; there she scatters venom drawn from dreadful roots and, three-times-nine times, murmurs an obscure and tangled maze of words, a labyrinth— the magic chant that issues from her lips. Then Scylla comes; no sooner has she plunged waist-deep into the water than she sees, around her hips, the horrid barking shapes.

Waterhouse's version similarly shows Circe floating over the water in the cove, pouring bright green poison into the pool below. Under her feet, Scylla's "barking shapes" already swirl in the bubbling depths below; the transformation is well underway. Neither Scylla's human form nor her monster form is the emphasis here. Rather, the power of Circe's grave face and tangible jealousy rules this scene, as the vivid colors swirl all around her figure.

[preraphaelitepaintings]

Narcissus

Artist: John William Waterhouse (English, 1849–1917)

Date: 1912

Material: Oil on canvas

Collection: Private collection

Description

John William Waterhouse is very famous for his use of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Most of his pieces express classical mythology, historical subjects, and British poetry. He is known for his great proficiency in oils and watercolors. Narcissus was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1912.

The exquisite oil painting on canvas displays a woman picking flowers in a field. According to the Greek mythology by Ovid, Narcissus was the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. Narcissus had been promised to live to an old age if only he would not look at his reflection, and so he rejected all women who fell in love with him and would not look at himself. Eventually, he was subdued by Echo, a woman who was deeply hurt by his rejection that she caused the Goddess Nemesis to strike Narcissus that he may look at his reflection in a pool and fall in love with himself. Narcissus then looked at his reflection in the pool till he died.

This story gives origin to the narcissus flower, which grew where Narcissus died. The flower grows almost anywhere but prefers well-drained soil with a sunny or light shade environment. The masterpiece of oil on canvas is set in a beautiful wooded landscape, seemingly with a stream and rocky edges. Wildflowers grow there too, and a young lady is bent picking them. Her countenance is downcast in the flowers. In her other hand, she holds a bunch of already picked flowers. She is dressed in a red dress, perhaps to symbolize love or a burning passion. The flowers she is picking are the narcissus flowers. Waterhouse was always keen to use colours, patterns, and simple objects for symbols of the old mythologies. The Narcissus would be no different. This wonderful work of art brings out his genius with the oils on canvas as he seemingly brings every aspect to life as rich in meaning.

Waterhouse was much influenced and inspired by Greek Mythology and works by Homer, Ovid, Shakespeare, and Keats, among other famous writers and poets from the time. His most common theme from these sources was femme fatale, the woman who ensnares a man. Most of Waterhouse's subjects were women from Greek Mythology, historical or literary texts. Often, he used live models, family, and friends to be his subjects, creating a great mix of the old and new as he used symbolism from the mythologies around current

[solcattus]

Gwendolen Gascoyne-Cecil, 1895

By Edward Burne-Jones

[lepetitdragonvert]

Arctic Encounter

Artist : Arthur Wardle (1864-1949)

[galleryofart]

The Grey Parrot

Artist: Walter Howell Deverell (English, 1827-1854

Date: c. 1852-1853

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

[the-cricket-chirps]

Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, Nadia, ca. 1921