Until the 19th century, narrative paintings showed stories which the viewer already knew, ideally at the moment of change or transformation.
Stillman
One of the famous painted narratives, Oedipus and the Sphinx proves an exception to all rules, but is glossed over in discussion of the literary narrative.
To celebrate the life and work of Dante, a small selection of paintings inspired by the Divine Comedy, and his ‘Vita Nuova’.
The great Florentine poet and writer Dante died of malaria on 14 September 1321, 700 years ago this Tuesday. A celebration of his life in paintings.
Chillon Castle, Lake Geneva, Éragny Manor, a mansion in New York City, Kelmscott Manor (home of William Morris), Florence Griswold’s home in Old Lyme, CT, and more.
The daughter of a Jamaican slave, William Morris’s wife, three Greek cousins known as the Three Graces – all muses and models for Pre-Raphaelites.
More women reading, from Dante’s beloved Beatrice to Charlotte Corday, who was psyching herself up with Plutarch’s Lives before murdering Marat in his bath.
Painstaking watercolour technique using transparent layers like glazes gives marvellous results in the Renaissance narratives.
Friend and model of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, taught to paint by Ford Madox Brown, and photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron, her paintings are truly Pre-Raphaelite.
Although too young to have known Rossetti or the Pre-Raphaelites, she painted wonderful allegorical and narrative works well into the 20th century, and was a successful illustrator.
The Eclectic Light Company 