Victorian Symbolism In Hunts The Awakening - 840 Words

Initially, Hunt’s â€Å"The Awakening† appears to show symbols that make it clear that this is a mistress and her lover. A stereotypical Victorian portrayal of a mistress usually includes pale white skin, brown-reddish and long wavy hair.The absence of a wedding ring, confirming she is not the man’s wife. The mans discarded glove warns that the likely fate of a cast-off mistress was prostitution. Around the room are visible reminders of her kept status (meaning that her lover is paying for some or all of her living expenses) for example, a tapestry hangs unfinished on the piano and a fancy clock is hidden within glass for decoration – something she could not have afforded on her own. Sarah Kuhl comments â€Å"All these things depict the woman as†¦show more content†¦The ivy behind her could represent clinging memory and the passing of time; the shadow on the wall is her time in Hades (as she is a Greek Goddess that would spend her winter in Hades ), that now haunts her.. Her dress, like spilling water, suggests the turning of the tides, and the incense burner denotes the subject as an immortal. Her saddened eyes, which are the same cold blue colour as most of the painting, indirectly stare at the other realm. Overall, dark hues characterise the colour scheme of the piece that she is a dark woman within who has sinned. â€Å"Eve and Proserpine both represent females banished for their sin of tasting a forbidden fruit. Their yielding to temptation has often been seen as a sign of feminine weakness or lack of restraint.† Khan argues which is probably one of the first things I also noticed when I saw the painting – it was most likely the whole reason why Rossetti chose to have Proserpine holding a fruit which we cannot make out is –directs our minds to think of Eve and the forbidden fruit. Similar to Hunt, both painters are visualising for us their own ideas of fallen women. They’ve both painted them as beautiful and cunning looking women who were seen as deviant to Victorians but mean something else for women in the twenty first century society. ction because of the change in thinking what was taboo and what is taboo. In addition, the symbolism within Rossetti’s â€Å"Proserpine†Show MoreRelatedThe Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood By John Everett Millais996 Words   |  4 Pagestransmit a message of artistic renewal and moral reform by imbuing their art with seriousness, sincerity, and truth to nature.†(Meagher) From Millais I will focus on one of his more famous paintings Ophelia, followed by Rossetti’s Proserpine, and Hunt’s Awakening Conscience. John Everett Millais’ Ophelia painted in 1851 is a depiction of noble woman Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ophelia’s story is tragic as she loses the favour of price Hamlet who then goes on to kill Ophelia’s father. Ophelia isRead MoreArt 100 Museum Paper814 Words   |  4 PagesIntro to Art/Art 100 Pre-Raphaelites I visited National Gallery of Art, Washington DC on Friday, March 29, 2013 to see the exhibition â€Å"Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848-1900†. It is the first major survey of the art of the Pre-Raphaelites to be shown in the United States features some 130 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative art objects. The young members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, formed in 1848, shook the art world of mid-19th-century Britain by rejectingRead MoreThe Pre Raphaelites Critique On Society Through The Image Of Women1495 Words   |  6 Pagessense of bold realism with soft mysticism. These women were modeled on the painter’s friends, lovers or wives, and captured their strength but also a vulnerability and a melancholy which had yet to be seen in woman images before. The women of early Victorian art were usually given sweet, delicate looks to represent their humble, submissive characters. Rosy cheeks, plump faces, and maternal bodies were naturally prerequisites. When the Pre-Raphaelites overtook the art scene they overtook the image of