Ophelia - John William Waterhouse
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Look at the painting by William Morris inspired by the medieval Arthurian romance about
the adulterous love of Queen Guinevere , King Arthur’s wife, for Sir Lancelot.
Work out the features of Pre-Raphaelite
paintings as regards:
1. The choice of subject
2. The colours used
3. The taste for detail
4. The atmosphere conveyed
William Morris “Queen Guenevere” (1858)
5.
Look at the painting “Ecce Ancilla Domini”
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and complete the
following activities.
1.
Describe where the scene takes place.
2.
Describe the Virgin and her attitude
3.
Point out the details concerning the Angel Gabriel.
4.
Recognise the elements which contribute to
the vertical division of space.
•
•
What elements move across the division?
D.G.Rossetti, “Ecce Ancilla Domini” 1849-1950
5.
•
Comment on the use of colour in the picture.
6.
The colours chosen are charged with symbolical
meaning. What association do they suggest?
•
7.
Besides colours, objects are also symbolical.
Point them out.
•
6.
1.
Now discuss these hints with the rest of the class.
Would you say this is a devotional image or
rather a painting about female reality?
D.G.Rossetti, “Ecce Ancilla Domini” 1849-1950
2.
“Ecce Ancilla Domini” had a very harsh reception,
it was denounced as an example of “perversion
of talent”.
Compare Rossetti’s depiction of the Virgin with
an example of traditional iconography and explain
why the Victorian public found it shocking.
D.G.Rossetti, “Ecce Ancilla Domini” 1849-1950
7.
1.
Look at the painting “The Awakening Conscience” by William Holman Hunt and answer the
following questions.
What is there on the carpet?
2.
What does the girl’s lack of a wedding ring
emphasize?
3.
Is there a window or a mirror in the
background?
4.
How is the room furnished?
W.H. Hunt, “The Awakening Conscience” 1853-1854
5.
What symbols explain the theme of the
fallen woman ?
6.
How are the image reflected in the mirror
and the light in the right corner related?
6.
Discuss what aspect of Victorianism this
painting comments upon.
W.H. Hunt, “The Awakening Conscience” 1853-1854
•
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Listening
While you are looking at the picture listen to its description and answer the questions:
The source of the painting:
The painter’s aim:
The model:
The technique
The background
Symbolism
a. The source of the painting
b. The painter’s aim:
c. The model:
d. The technique:
e. The background
J. Everett Millais, “Ophelia” 1851-1853
f. Symbolism:
•
the willow (salice)=
•
the nettle (ortica) =
•
the daises =
•
the pansy ( viola del pensiero) =
•
the poppy (papavero) =
J. Everett Millais, “Ophelia” 1851-1853