Becoming more popular in the late 1880s and early 1890s, ‘problem pictures’ from Marie Spartali Stillman, Henrietta Rae, Millais, and others.
narrative
Dante meets St Thomas Aquinas in the shell of the sun, then moves upward to that of Mars, where there are holy warriors.
Fine examples from Millais, Berthold Woltze, Yeames, William Quiller Orchardson, and Degas.
Dante and Beatrice ascend to the shell of Mercury, where they meet Justinian, then on to Venus, where love is the order of the day.
Two paintings from Edgar Degas have still, 150 years later, defied all attempts to resolve their narratives. Another from Britain, and one from the American Eastman Johnson.
In which Dante, guided by Beatrice, ascends to the first shell of the heavens, containing the moon. Many paintings of Piccarda Donati and the Empress Constance result.
In the 19th century, readers enjoyed detective and ‘mystery’ novels. From 1850, artists like William Holman Hunt and Berthold Woltze tried the same in paint.
A succinct summary of Dante’s ascent of the mountain-island of Purgatory, with the best of the paintings from Blake to Rossetti.
As narrative painting went into decline, Ophelia became even more popular. From Henrietta Rae through sub-aqua views to Waterhouse’s obsession.
Millais’ wonderful painting of Ophelia wasn’t the first such work. From West and Delacroix to Rossetti and Bastien-Lepage, here she is.
The Eclectic Light Company 