THE PAINTING THAT MADE ME CRY.
- Feb 22, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 24, 2023
A look into the art of the Pre Raphaelites the Brotherhood; The magic of Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Have you ever seen a piece of art and all of a sudden you were in tears? Well, if you haven’t you need to experience more art. At 17 I was fascinated by Pre-Raphalites and the brotherhood of artists that created this movement. You may be wondering what is so fascinating about a group of men that call themselves the brotherhood?( Cough) Just like every other male group duo that are successful; they were amazing.
The Brotherhood was made up of a group of English artists, poets and critics founded by William Hunt, John Everett Millais Dante Gabriel Rossetti and others who were inspired by the theories of John Ruskin, who encouraged artists to 'go to nature'. A theme that is echoed in many pieces. But this was not limited to just this, many of their works explore stories, mythology, poetry and comment on modern culture or social issues, at the time. But to me, the most important of all was undoubtedly a clear homage to the muse, love and death; the foundation for inspiration to many artists till date.
Often I would find myself exploring the art of artists from the brotherhood without knowing their connection but being completely entranced by the composition, symbolism and intentional emphasis on beauty of a room, landscape or female figure/form in a portrait.
One thing about my preferences of art at this early stage of my early artistic career, was that it was greatly influenced by the literary books and teachers I had. My A-Level English teacher always had a way of making the most complex and symbolic pieces of literature tap into the visual arts and always drew connections between the two. Plus there is one thing I took pretty seriously at the time, and that was the approval of my art teachers, who seemed to always have interesting discussions with my English teacher.
More to the point it was actually because of my English teacher that I even got to see the amazing art piece that made me weep. In our english class discussion we talked about the story of the marriage of Proserpine and Hades. Like many teenagers, I too was obsessed with mythology and unlike some other teachers that do not teach literature, our english teacher gladly took us on the tangent. Somehow I concluded their was filled with entrapment, lies, selfishness, abuse and the ultimate sacrifice. If I remember correctly he then shared an image of an art piece on the projector and funny enough my sister had explored that very portrait capturing Proserpine.
The piece was by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.In the painting Proserpine is holding a pomegranate to her chest, her shoulder facing the viewer and her dark eyes staring out into space. Her dark hair lay on her shoulders and clothing in soft billows. She was beautiful, and kind of looked like my friend, so I went straight into exploring all his art.
As usual a google search was first, and bam, all his work came up. I scrolled through and there she was A Vision of Fiammetta 1878. Soon enough our class discussion came to a halt but all the artists in the room were still consumed by the conversation and continued it past the bell. My teacher had actually seen the art and knew that the show was coming back to London and offered to take a group of us, if we wanted to.
My teacher, his wife and the student artists were taken to this exhibition at the TATE Britain to see the Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant Garde.
I would say the personal connection I had to this moment may have really made me quite emotional. Walking through the dark space with warm beams of light pointing at the various art pieces I had once seen online, but now in person, made it even more surreal. The angelic faces of the subjects peer out to me and there she was, the flame.
The oil painting was140 cm × 91 cm (55 in × 36 in). It towered over my teenage body and I as I gazed at the, phoenix, angel, blossoms, the red hair and cheeks of the subject, thought to myself,
I wish to be seen as an eternal flame to someone that loves me. I hope to be seen in such esteem and beauty. To be seen as a divine goddess or fluid element. An element of nature that is uncontrollable like fire, able to be reborn into a new age like a Phoenix and still revered. The thought of the love and meaning of the piece overwhelmed me. I wondered if I could love another like this, to be able to portray a lover on such a pedestal. I still shed a tear thinking about how my heart was pounding out of my chest, and the way in which an emotion as love could be interpreted so accurately. I guess you could say, on that day I fell in love with Rosetti's art and with that piece.
Below is a poem by Rossetti about the painting.
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"Behold Fiammetta, shown in Vision here.
Gloom-girt 'mid Spring-flushed apple-growth she stands;
And as she sways the branches with her hands,
Along her arm the sundered bloom falls sheer,
In separate petals shed, each like a tear;
While from the quivering bough the bird expands
His wings. And lo! thy spirit understands
Life shaken and shower'd and flown, and Death drawn near.
All stirs with change. Her garments beat the air:
The angel circling round her aureole
Shimmers in flight against the tree's grey bole:
While she, with reassuring eyes most fair,
A presage and a promise stands; as 'twere
On Death's dark storm the rainbow of the Soul."
Written by Karen Gager
KAYG.ED
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