Consulting The Oracle

Waterhouse again, sorry but I loves him. 'Consulting The Oracle' (1884) is all rich colour, drama and exoticism. The scene depicts seven young women eagerly waiting to hear their priestess relay a message from the oracle. What is this 'oracle'? I hear you ask. Well, hold your horses I'm coming to that... jeez.. some people.


John Willy Waterbed exhibited the painting with the following note:

"The Oracle or Teraph was a human head, cured with spices, which was fixed against the wall, and lamps being lit before it and other rites performed, the imagination of diviners was so excited that they supposed that they heard a low voice speaking future events."

So, you see, the ladies are all being held in suspense by a spicy fortune-telling pickled bonce. Not so pretty now, huh!? This isn't surprising considering the artist's interest in the macabre and disturbing themes of the occult. There was even speculation that he was a member of a secret mystical group... yeh I can totally see the guy rocking up to the Midnight Society's bonfire to tell a spooky PG-13 rated ghost story.

There is a dramatic tension in the painting which I really like. You can feel the ladies' anticipation, it's etched all over their faces. This was like the X Factor finals for these bee-atches. Some critics cited this emotional display as the reason for their dislike of the piece. Apparently the "open mouths" were considered "most unladylike". But the vogue for Orientalism in art at the time meant the work was somewhat of a hit anyway. So suck on that, prudes!

I chose the lady in the foreground for my picture, because I loved the colours and draping of her clothes, and her ambiguous facial expression. Also... the side-boob. Everyone loves a side-boob.
 

Watermark not on print-for-sale through Etsy.com.

Dolce Far Niente

'Dolce far niente' is an old Italian expression meaning 'sweet/pleasant doing nothing'. This fancy way of saying 'enjoying being a lazy ol'mare' inspired the hell out artists. PRB founding member William Holman Hunt, for example, used it as a title for this 1866 painting of his then-fiancee Annie Miller (later changing the face to his new wife, Fanny... the fickle swine).

Pre-Raph-u-like / Neo-Classicist John William Godward created this beautiful painting in 1904, and named it.. you guessed it.. 'Dolce Far Niente', or the more snappier 'Sweet Nothings'.

... As did he this earlier painting in 1897 (which I love with the fire of a thousand overheated netbooks). Hello new desktop wallpaper! Yes, work colleagues, it's a nipple. Deal with it.

American artist and owner of awesome name, Will Hicok Low (1853-1932), was also bitten by the 'Niente'-bug...

As was Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1882.

And John Singer Sargent in 1907.

Ditto Frederick Arthur Bridgman (1847 – 1928).











I think you get the point.

Anyhoo, my personal favourite artistic depiction of sublime laziness is J. W. Waterhouse's 'Dolce Far Niente' (1880).

... well actually it's his second attempt at making sloth sexy. His first was in 1879, and is still used as a perfect example of foreshortening - a device often used by Waterhouse, most notably in 'Saint Eulalia' (1885). 

 

The Italian aesthetic of the 1880 painting was directly inspired by Rosetti, but the lazypants theme was all Waterhouse. Apparently he felt the idleness of the pose liberated the subject from a restrictive narrative and/or morality. Put simply, it allowed him to just set about making them look all pretty 'n' junk without having to explain why.

In a similar vein, my interpretation of 'Dolce Far Niente' sees my lady chilling out, inside a crack in a wall, at the end of my mum's back garden. Yep. Nothing weird there. She's even brought a tiny pillow, a tiny fan and a tiny pigeon; the bare essentials for any fan of doing sweet F.A. all day.

Watermark not on print-for-sale through Etsy.com.

slightly delayed NEWS!

I probably should've mentioned this a while ago, but I forgot... (plus I type words on a keyboard all day for a living, so when I get some some 'me-time' thunking 'n' word-processing are usually the last things I want to do. If you're wondering what I like to do instead, well... mescaline usually... or watch Loose Women).

What was my point? Oh Yep. My stuff is on sale in a shop! A real live shop; with a till and price tags and shelves and a window display and a lovely woman called Liz. It's called Bermondsey Fayre and it's on Bermondsey Street near London Bridge Station. The shop itself is a proper little treasure trove of handmade crafts, trinkets, art and beautiful clothes. I highly recommend you go there, and when you do make sure to say "I hear you stock items by PeaRafflePie. I have to say I believe her work to be marvelous. She is truly a genius, and certainly top in the field of Pre Raphaelite inspired digitally-manipulated art and ribbonny-jewellery... design."

Currently on sale are my postcards, a few one-off (i.e. I made them ages ago and now can't remember what they look like) necklaces and some framed prints. Go forth and buy my wares! Do it! DO IT, I SAY!

A Tale from the Decameron

Next up for the PeaRafflePie-treatment (please turn your head and cough) is J. W. Waterhouse's 'A Tale From The Decameron' (1916). The original painting was inspired by the book 'The Decameron'; a collection of tales by Italian author, poet, humanist, and insane body-popper Giovanni Boccaccio. Written around 1350 during the outbreak of the Plague in Florence, the book finds seven young women and three young men escape to the countryside to avoid becoming plague-fodder. Once at home in their lush new country villa, the group take turns in telling each other stories for ten days ('decameron' is literally sexy old foreign-speak for 'ten days', doncha know.... oh you didn't?... well now you do.... go impress your friends).

Each of the days ends with a canzone (mmm... calzone), a song performed by the storyteller, hence these guys in the painting rocking their lutes.I like to imagine this fella has just told a kickass story and is now gonna blow these ladies' minds with a little mash-up of "Stairway to Heaven" and "Sex On Fire". Obviously he's the focal point of the piece. Their gaze is transfixed on him, as are those of the two sneaky latecomers at the back there. But this is nicely counterbalanced by green dress lady at the end, who is clearly more interested in fiddling with the flowers. I like her style. Which is exactly why I chose to paint her, oh and the pink dress lady in front of her (mainly because she's in the way... bitch.)

Waterhouse also painted an illustration of one of the stories told in 'The Decameron'. 'The Enchanted Garden' (1916-7) is a tale of an indecent proposal, a summer garden in winter, magic, intrigue, lust and a wise-cracking dolphin. Coming soon to Disney 3-D.

Nb. Sometimes I talk bollocks.

Watermark not on print-for-sale through Etsy.com.

Etsy Photos; Take One

How annoying is this!... last weekend, armed with mojitos and giggles, myself and my good buddies Annu and Carolyn attempted to photograph my jewellery so I can finally complete my bloody Esty shop. And so, sat against the stylish backdrop of Carolyn's living room door I took photo after photo of their boobal region decorated with my necklaces.

Now granted, I was taking these shots with an industrial strength mojito nestled between my thighs (which was less dirty than I just made it sound), and with half a bottle of wine sloshing around my belly, but still... only around 10% of the bad boys were clearly lit and in focus.

So it's take 2 this weekend, delaying the opening of 'my bloody Etsy shop' even further. Until then, and because they're not much use to me now, here's a few of the decent 10%...

 

I also tried to take some more arty-farty close-up photos later that weekend, and while quite a few came out pretty nicely, I think you'll agree that they're a little too fussy to actually sell the jewellery... the fake flowers, birdcage, fairy lights and peacock feathers maybe, but not the jewellery.
 

The Mirror Of Venus

'The Mirror Of Venus' (1898) is another Burnes-Jones painting, but this one's a two-fer; inspiring not just one, not eight, but two whole PeaRafflePie pictures. As it's an ensemble piece I was a little spoilt for choice when it came to picking a lady. The obvious focal one is Venus herself, standing there all blue and tall like a Na'vi. But she gets enough glory (what with the planet n'all), so I instead went for a couple of her maidens; one for her interesting angle/reflection, the other for the tones of her dress. I may go back and try the two blond ladies in orange at the side... but that's another story for another time on another blog in another dimension.
I'm sure there's lots to say about the use of the mirror as a metaphor for something, and the direction of the gaze being reflected; subsequently creating another gaze which in turn symbolizes something or nothing. But other people have already said all that, a lot betterer than I ever could.

Venus was the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, and is a very popular subject in art, especially during the Renaissance. She's usually butt-nekkid with very long hair, which is handy for covering your doo-lally, Botticelli-style. I don't blame her really, if I were a Roman goddess forced to spend eternity starkers I'd probably grow it out freaky-long too... then fashion it into some kind of hair-parka / culottes combo.

Burne-Jones was a Botticelli fan, in 'The Mirror Of Venus' he tried to keep the Renaissance elegance but imbue it with a Pre-Raphaelite mood and colour palette. The women's expressions are also very PRB, i.e. slightly sad, wistful and detached. It's all very fantastical and dreamlike... I mean, for one thing, they are looking over a giant puddle on the moon.

... aren't they?
 

Watermark not on print-for-sale through Etsy.com.

The Beguiling of Merlin

Edward Burne-Jones' 'The Beguiling of Merlin' (1872-1877) is a beautiful painting... with the one exception - Merlin's creepy old-lady-face (seriously, Eddy B-J, what is that?). I chose to paint from it mainly because I like all the colours and folds of Nimue's dress. Nimue, by the by, is the legendary 'Lady of the Lake' (an archaic 'Jenny from the Block' if you please) who, in the Arthurian stories, either dished out swords, resurrected knights, or in this case... seduced and imprisoned a wizard.


The PreRaphaelites loved their 'fallen women'; ladies whom, in almost every case, were destroyed by various forms of love:- unrequited, tragic, adulterous, immoral; pick your poison. In today's society such women simply strap on a push-up bra and call the News Of The World, but in the stories depicted in PRB paintings they used magic... sexy magic.

In 'The Beguiling of Merlin' Nimue reads from her book of spells, and an infatuated Merlin wilts like a horny flower. She uses his love for her to pursuade him to teach her all he knows. Once taught, she imprisons him and hits the road. The lack of Merlin's help eventually contributes to Arthur's downfall... it's like Adam 'n' Eve all over again. Bloomin' women.

Fun Fact! The model was Maria Zambaco, believed to be Burne-Jones' mistress. She pops up all over the shop in his work. Go have look for yourself, it's like a very high-brow game of Where's Wally?.
 

Watermark not on print-for-sale through Etsy.com.