Pre-Raphaelite Society

  1. Janine
    Janine
    Interesting also that she was the model for several painters. No wonder she became ill posing like this in the cold water. That must have been very difficult to endure.
  2. Dark Muse
    Dark Muse
    I like the Isabella one
  3. Dark Muse
    Dark Muse
    Here are some poems by Elizabeth Siddal

    A Silent Wood

    O silent wood, I enter thee
    With a heart so full of misery
    For all the voices from the trees
    And the ferns that cling about my knees.

    In thy darkest shadow let me sit
    When the grey owls about thee flit;
    There will I ask of thee a boon,
    That I may not faint or die or swoon.

    Gazing through the gloom like one
    Whose life and hopes are also done,
    Frozen like a thing of stone
    I sit in thy shadow – but not alone.

    Can God bring back the day when we two stood
    Beneath the clinging trees in that dark wood?

    Dead Love

    Oh never weep for love that’s dead
    Since love is seldom true
    But changes his fashion from blue to red,
    From brightest red to blue,
    And love was born to an early death
    And is so seldom true.

    Then harbour no smile on your bonny face
    To win the deepest sigh.
    The fairest words on truest lips
    Pass on and surely die,
    And you will stand alone, my dear,
    When wintry winds draw nigh.

    Sweet, never weep for what cannot be,
    For this God has not given.
    If the merest dream of love were true
    Then, sweet, we should be in heaven,
    And this is only earth, my dear,
    Where true love is not given.

    Early Death

    Oh grieve not with thy bitter tears
    The life that passes fast;
    The gates of heaven will open wide
    And take me in at last.
    Then sit down meekly at my side
    And watch my young life flee;
    Then solemn peace of holy death
    Come quickly unto thee.

    But true love, seek me in the throng
    Of spirits floating past,
    And I will take thee by the hands
    And know thee mine at last.

    He and She and Angels Three

    Ruthless hands have torn her
    From one that loved her well;
    Angels have upborn her,
    Christ her grief to tell.

    She shall stand to listen,
    She shall stand and sing,
    Till three winged angels
    Her lover’s soul shall bring.

    He and she and the angels three
    Before God’s face shall stand;
    There they shall pray among themselves
    And sing at His right hand.
  4. Janine
    Janine
    I don't have time to read those poems now but will later on tonight. They look interesting. I will have to see if I have her work or her poetry in any of my books. She did very nice work. Thanks for posting that and those poems, DM.

    I love the Isabella one, also. It is one of my favorites from this period and movement. Is that her reflection in the circle by her foot? Is that a mirror laying there; at first I just thought that was part of the tiles...now I am wondering.
  5. Dark Muse
    Dark Muse
    It does look like it could be a mirror
  6. Janine
    Janine
    I was looking at it closer and it looks as though it has a lot of little things that must be symbolic. I just thought it looked intentional the way her foot points right to the circle or mirror or whatever it is. I like the skull on the bowl; and the pitcher on the floor has what looks like a watering can spout. I wonder what that small detail is by the mysterious mirror. I can't really make it out, can you?

    I had better depart for bed. I first printed out those poems to read. I am really tired out now. Night, DM.
  7. Dark Muse
    Dark Muse
    By the colors, it almost looks as if the altar cloth, and the blanket/robe she is holding is being reflected within the mirror and right next to it, it looks like maybe a rose on the floor
  8. Janine
    Janine
    Yes, you are right. I thought that dark cloth was being reflected. It does look now like it must be the altercloth as well. I wish we could view the picture larger. I will look for it online and maybe find on larger that you can't actually copy but will reveal what the details are. Now I am fascinated with it.

    It does indeed look like a rose bud or dried up rose and then there are other fuller roses around the base of the vessel saucer she is leaning on and one on the ledge. They all must signify something.
  9. Dark Muse
    Dark Muse
    Opehlia is one of the must famously painted figures in Pre-Raphaelite art. So this is a tribute to Ophelia, a collection of different representations of her. (I tried to choose images that are not already displayed here either in other posts or in the gallery)


    John Everett Millais


    John William Waterhouse (This is one of my favorites)


    Anna Lea Merrit


    Arthur Hughes


    Redon, Odilon


    Alexandre Cabanel

    There are many more but I could not post them all
  10. Dark Muse
    Dark Muse
    Oh and I found out the artist for the Ophelia pic I posted here that you asked me about is Jules-Joseph Lefebvre
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