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First published in 1894, with the English translation of the play, ‘The Peacock Skirt’ is one of sixteen black and white ink framed inset illustrations drawn by Aubrey Beardsley for Oscar Wilde’s play, Salome: A Tragedy in One Act. The illustration depicts the princess Salome, regaled in an elaborate skirt and headdress that are reminiscent of a peacock, conversing with the character known as ‘the young Syrian’. Aubrey Beardsley’s artistic style is a nod to the aesthetic style that emerged in the latter half of the nineteenth century known as art nouveau, as well as the movement of…

Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti was born in London on May 12th, 1828. (Ash 7) His father, Gabriele Rossetti, was obsessed with Dante Alighieri, so he gave his first-born son the name of Dante. (Ash 7) Rossetti realized his passion for poetry and painting early in his life, so he decided to pursue both. His decision was fully supported by his parents, which was liberal for the Victorian Era. (Ash 7) In order to study the arts, he went to Sass's, a preparatory school for Royal Academy. (Ash 7) He went to the Royal Academy in 1845, and he left before his twentieth birthday. (Ash 9) He studied…

The Beloved was inspired by the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs. The Song of Solomon is a biblical text in which a man and woman exchange love poems. (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica) The poems describe the beauty of the woman, who is the groom’s object of affection. The text has been interpreted as allegorical, dramatic, cultic, and literal. The allegorical interpretation states that the text is a metaphor for God’s love for Israelites. (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica) The dramatic interpretation states that the man and woman are enacting a dramatic love story through…

The style of the Pre-Raphaelite Circle primarily centered around aestheticism, a style of art deviating from modern conventional attitudes (Dennis 2). Its doctrine revolves around one’s private utopia, focusing on perceptions of perfection and artistic ideals (Dennis 2). Many aesthetic pieces challenged cultural and societal norms, particularly related to sensuality and morality. The aesthetic characteristics of art from the Pre-Raphaelite Circle encompassed deviations from the status quo, representation of middle-class authority, and sensuality of men and women (Dennis 4). Additionally,…

The Hireling Shepherd is an oil painting on canvas by Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt circa 1851. Hunt travelled alongside John Everett Millais, another member artist of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, to Ewell, Surrey. Together, they searched for locations for inspiration in their artwork. While Millais began painting Ophelia near the River Hogswell, Hunt chose a meadow to paint The Hireling Shepherd. Ford Madox Brown set the foundation of modern-life realist style painting for the Pre-Raphaelites. Rossetti was intrigued by Brown’s depth in his…

This image represents the feminist tones throughout Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market . Christina Rossetti takes a religious approach to her story telling technique which is very popular in Victorian literature. Instead of telling the traditional story of temptation and a woman tempting a man, it is rather the masculine figures of the Goblins tempting the women. This role reversal gives power to the women and shows men as something other than the hero or the protagonist of life. This is shown in the wood engravings done by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in which the goblins, who are…

Ford Madox Brown was a Franco-English painter (See Figure 1). His father was a retired purser from the Royal Navy and his mother came from Kent. His grandfather, John Brown, founded the Brunonian system of medicine. He was an only child. Ford’s education was limited as his childhood was spent traveling between England and the rest of Europe. His interest in painting arose at the age of six. His strength in his talent was not portrayed until he completed a portrait of his father at the age of fourteen where he showed the fine details of his father’s solemn expression (see Figure 2). At the…