Pretty, pretty, pretty. I like pretty things, after all, do we not see enough of the vulgar, ugly and mundane? I like my art to be difficult some of the time..but you know, it is nice for a painting to fulfil its most basic purpose - to be aesthetically pleasing. Pre - Raphaelite art..the second generation included, if not more so (think Burne - Jones and John William Waterhouse) is a particular love of mine...although, who is not overwhelmed by the utter beauty and tragedy; the juxtaposition between life and death of John Everett Millais' Ophelia? Like many females..(Pre - Raphaelite art is, I imagine, possessor of a largely feminine fan base) I adore this paining - the day I will see it in person I shall weep! No lies...paintings have that weepy effect on me..awfully pretentious, but hey, we should all have moments when we are free to be as cheesy as we like! I am not the kind to sob into my popcorn at The Notebook, or go all gooey inside at the mere sight of a bouncing baby, but jeez, those Pre - Raphalite heroines sure know how to tug at my heart - strings. Over the weekend, I was preparing a presentation on Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott which is a painting of the same name by Waterhouse. I spent several days trawling through Pre - Raphaelite paintings, each one making me drop my head to the side and coo: 'Awwww'. It was awfully, unashamedly girly, but those women with their pale, wistful, pitiful faces and wispy curtains of dark/auburn hair and gauzy diaphanous dresses sure do know how to melt my heart just a little bit.
Ophelia, Millais
Of course my silly little ways, have me pining for such an aesthetic. Long, long hair and floor tipping gowns and some flowers in the hair and maybe a jewel or two. Of course, tragic love story entirely optional..not exactly pining for that.
The Lady of Shalott, Waterhouse
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