Dante and Me

Everybody who knows me well knows that one of my greatest artistic influences is the Romantic Movement with an emphasis on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Not only that, but I am not alone in my admiration and adoration of this cast of real life historical characters and their art. I first heard about them not in art history class, but at a small fantasy convention in Minneapolis. Terry Windling was giving a talk on them, their creed and creativity sparked my imagination and embedded itself in my subconscious. I was hooked.

So off the the library I went, back in the day before the internet was alive. I sought out every book I could find about these artists, and I poured over every painting. As I learned about their lives and loves, their passion for art and literature, I became entranced with them all. But one artist stood out for me: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, oil painter, watercolorist, poet and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

They all loved to paint redheads, and it became quite the fashion, picked up by other artists such as Waterhouse. Being a redhead myself, I saw myself in their paintings, part of an Arthurian Myth, or as a Goddess of old. The skillful renderings humble me, I can only hope to be that good someday. As I emerged from my pile of books, I encountered other artists, just like me who loved the PRB. My dear friend Denise Garner and I spent many an hour discussing these dreamers, and we dreamed our own dreams on the long drive to GenCon, and playing fun art games to pass the time.

It was after studying some traditional painting techniques that I was commissioned to create an oil version of a watercolor I did in art school paying homage to Rossetti. The result was La Bella Rosa, an Italian sounding name to honor Dante. Like the drawing of DGR pictured above, La Bella Rosa is a self portrait, me in 2001. The nature of art is to build upon the images you see with the images you imagine and discover yourself in the process. I am still discovering myself and my many faces as I create not only art, but a record of my inspirations here in this blog.

Writing this post put me in touch with a wonderful website: The Rossetti Archive, a treasure trove of everything a Rossetti lover could ever want. My own archive lives in my heart after years of reading and sharing with other artists my admiration for this artist and the movement he founded.

The Pre-Raphaelites and Me

Once upon a time there were Seven rather opinionated young artists, who decided to throw convention to the wind and do their own thing. This was in a day when art was ruled by convention, so what they did was radical in the extreme. They painted from life with realism, romance, and a love for mythology. They called themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and they changed the face of art in England in the 19th century.

I first heard about them at Fourth Street Fantasy convention in Minneapolis, many years ago when I was young and thirsty for art knowledge. Terri Windling gave a talk that captured the imaginations of everyone at this small convention. I even had a cassette tape recording of the talk, but it was lost long ago. Thankfully, Ms. Windling is still in the inspiration business and has articles online about it. Here's what she has to say:

Like the early Pre–Raphaelite Brotherhood (before the tides of fashion turned in their favor), fantasists must work outside the approval of the art establishment. Fantasists use themes that are once again considered beneath the notice of serious artists: myth, magic, fairy tales, and stories unabashedly Romantic. The Pre–Raphaelite artists worked in forms derided as craft or decoration, not high art: ceramics, weaving, embroidery, jewelry–making, furniture, and book design — just as today we work in forms that are also rarely considered high art: genre fiction, children's fiction, book illustration, and comics.

In a day when you can't swing a mouse without hitting another Wannabe fantasy/fairy artist's website, it would be nice to see some more with real talent, real vision, and real dedication to the craft of painting myth and legend on the scene. It's unfortunate that when hearts and minds are turning to fantasy via the excellent books and movies like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, all they can find in art is yet another cutsie-wootsie fairy. It's supply and demand though, so the market decides that crap is art once again. Too bad it's part of the fantasy genre.