: "Waking Dreams: The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware
Art Museum," will open at the Frick Art Museum on July 29 with
paintings, drawings and decorative art objects from the most
significant collection outside the United Kingdom. It will be on
view through October 8.
With almost 130 examples of oil paintings, watercolors, drawings,
ceramics, jewelry and furniture, the Delaware collection spans
most of the Victorian period from the young Dante Gabriel
Rossetti's (1828-1882) practice work through paintings by Edward
Burns-Jones (1833-1898) completed just before his death in 1898.
This extraordinary collection was acquired by Samuel Bancroft, Jr
(1840-1915), a textile manufacturer and patron of the arts who
bought his first work, Rossetti's "Water Willow," in 1890. He
collected other Pre-Raphaelite works throughout the decade and
his heirs donated his collection to the Delaware Art Museum.
The Pre-Raphaelites were students of Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)
at the British Royal Academy in 1848 when Rossetti, William
Holman Hunt (1827-1910) and John Everett Millais (1829-1896)
joined with other young men whose ambitions rebelled against the
current artistic conventions and standards of the academy. They
looked to a time before the Renaissance master Raphael
(1483-1520) for artistic influence, believing that those artists
worked in a more honest, straightforward manner.
As the Nineteenth Century progressed, the members of the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood developed their own styles following
ideals of the medieval period or inspired by Arthurian legends,
Dante, Chaucer and Shakespeare. History, legend, Biblical stories
and ancient mythology were joined by the influence of English
Romantic poets such as Byron, Keats and Tennyson for symbolism,
sentiment and narrative. Exotic places, especially the Orient
inspired luxurious interiors and jeweled subjects.
Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), "Lancelot and Guinevere
(Lancelot and Elaine)," 1873, silver gelatin print, 13 3/4 by
11 1/4 inches. Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1979.
The Pre-Raphaelites were the direct inspiration to William
Morris's (1834-1896) Arts and Crafts movement. Believing in the
handcrafted object and the alliance of literature with the visual
arts, Morris's close friendship and working relationship with
Rossetti and Burne-Jones resulted in the production of furniture,
books and household objects inspired by "medieval" design. Two
chairs in the exhibit demonstrate this collaboration: "The Arming
of the Knight," 1857-1858, and "Glorious Guendolen's Golden Hair,"
1856, were designed by Morris and decorated by Rossetti.
Other highlights on view include Millais' "The Waterfall," 1853,
and "A Highland Lassie," 1854, Brown's "Hampstead - A Sketch from
Nature," 1857, and Frederick Sandys' "Mary Magdalene," 1858-1860.
Portraits represented a spectrum of approaches to the face and
character of the subject. Albert Moore's "The Green Butterfly" is
typical of his female figures, delicate in color and timeless in
expression.
Literary motifs abound in Brown's "Romeo and Juliet," 1870, and
"The Corsair's Return (1871-81). Works by Rossetti form the
cornerstone of the exhibit. From early works like "Bottles,"
1848, to his religious watercolors including "Mary in the House
of St John," 1858, and his group of increasingly nonnarrative
paintings with female figures in mysterious, often trancelike
states like "Lady Lilith," 1868, "Veronica Veronese," 1872, and
"Mary Mgdalene," 1877, Rossetti reflected his interior life in
his work. Known as "Stunners," Rossetti's women are a hallmark of
the Pre-Raphaelite style.
"Waking Dreams" was organized by Stephen Wildman, curator of the
Ruskin Library, Lancaster University, England. It is accompanied
by a 396-page soft cover catalog with essays on a variety of
aspects of the collection and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
($49.95).
The Frick Art Museum is at 7227 Reynolds Street. For more
information 412-371-0600 or www.frickart.org.
