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Imagine this. You walk into a museum, just to look around, when you spot a
section with a name that caches your eye. Victorian Art.
You walk in, wondering why there is a special section for this time period when
all the other times' art seem to be just jumbled together. Looking around, you see a
lot of portraits, some with beautiful color, some just black and white.
As you walk through the exhibit, you notice that there are a lot of portraits of
women. You notice a number of artists, but one person's name appears more than
the others: Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
This painter and poet helped found the English Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which
was a school of painting. This school supported a return to the Italian style
before Raphael, who was a famous artist during Italy's High Renaissance.
As an artist, Rossetti was well known for his luxurious detail. He mostly
painted portraits of women, including "Lady Lilith," "La Donna della Fiamma," "Beatrice,"
"Aspecta Medusa," "Sweet Tooth," and "Proserpine".
Also in the exhibit, you notice a variety of fairy paintings. A lot of people,
including Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens, admired these paintings, which most likely took their subjects from Shakespeare's plays.Although the fairy artwork is often quite beautiful, most artists just painted
them to establish their professional careers. For Richard Dadd and Joseph Noel
Paton, though, the fairies remained a lifelong passion.
You look around more, and are surprised to see that some of the paintings
look familiar. You recognize them as scenes from the story of Sleeping Beauty.
The man who most likely created these paintings was Edward Burne-Jones.
Burne-Jones painted a series of Briar Rose paintings that ended when the prince
was at the gate and Briar Rose was still asleep among her people. Some people
think this was to show how the prince did all the work and Briar Rose slept and
did nothing, but others say it was intended to show how peaceful and beautiful
Briar Rose
was while sleeping, because there is a slight glow
surrounding Briar Rose that doesn't appear anywhere else in the paintings.
Burne-Jones got his model for Briar Rose from his 18-year-old daughter Margaret.
As you reach the end of your tour, you notice a large plaque that says:
Art in the Victorian time was especially observant of the human condition.
You may have noticed the many portraits and scenes from every day life. Homer,
who was best known for paintings of life near the sea, painted a picture titled
"Snap the Whip" that showed boys playing a favorite game. James Abbot McNeil
painted a portrait of his mother named "Arrangement in Gray and Black". Fredrick
Remington to some extent re-created the Wild West legend in 2,739 pictures and
illustrations in 147 books.
Underneath that, you notice a much smaller plaque that reads:
Mary Cassatt -- America's most famous female artist at this time.
Accepted in Paris, but not her home country.
Thomas Pollock -- The most famous African-American artist at this time.
Painted "Ironworkers Noontime".
The Eight -- New painters at this time.
As you leave the exhibit, you start to think about everything you've just
learned, and realize that art is a lot more interesting than you once believed
it to be. You decide to research it more when you get home, and stop at the
front desk to ask where you can find more information.
The receptionist responds by giving you a piece of paper. You walk out of the
museum, looking at all the different websites where you can find information on
VICTORIAN ART.
Editor's Note: I'm sure the folks from the Getty will love to read
your article, Coolme91. Thanks for sending it in! By the way, have you visited
Whyville's Museum yet? Tell us what you think about our Museum, and art in
general, in the BBS below!
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