Hello Roger,

Thanks for the stimulating topic.

I became aware of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, his painting and his romantic approach to art about ten years ago and was most enthusiastic about him and his school for a long while. After that, I turned back to the painters of the Neo Classic school in my preferences, though I never lost sight of him really and even now keep a good amount of reproductions of his paintings in my computer.

In fact, I always believed the painting with which you have opened this thread (The Enchanted Garden of Messer Ansaldo) was by Gabriel Rossetti's hand, and just had to check it out at Wikipedia to convince myself that I was wrong and that it actually was the work of Mary Stillman. Amazing indeed, such quality!

Below is Dante Garniel Rossetti's famous Proserpine, which in my opinion very much resembles the lady at the right of the tree in the 'Enchanted Garden'. Actually it seems to be the sort of romantic ideal face that was favored by artists at the time, a little bit androgynous in its nature, but certainly most beautiful.

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Proserpine

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Thanks again,

Luis Miguel G.

Luis,

I am so pleased that I have revived an interest.

I can understand why you had returned to the masters but of course this is exactly what these folk were doing and a superb result they acheived as a result. I am SO LUCKY that I have so much of the history of these people right upon my doorstep. I would love to take you to The Red House which I visited last year.

The Red House was one of William Morris's houses and has close connections with Rosseti, his wife, and I'm sure many subjects of these paintings. Take a look at

http://www.rebs.demon.co.uk/Exterior.html

and

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=The+Red+House,+Morris&cr=countryUK%7CcountryGB&rlz=1R2ADRA_enGB357&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=TiwlS-ApyYyMB_rf5NcH&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CB4QsAQwAw

They were such an exciting movement because industrialisation was taking work away from artisans and quality was disappearing. The overall approach to bring back the best in the arts was laudable.

Perhaps we are due a new revival.

I think each One Hundred years would be good. Take stock of the past before moving on.

I hope everyone enjoys this. It ties up with another link that I have been aiming to bring here.

Roger

Hello again Roger,

Thank you so much for all the info and comments. I appreciate it all the more since I actually knew very little about the Pre-Raphaelites and you have somehow filled the gap. And yes, would I like to visit the Red House some day. Very rarely do I feel envy at something, but I have a little bit after reading your reply and checking out the links. Something I have been thinking about of late is your poem about England, and I can certainly understand your pride.

In general, I so much enjoy these topics that I would like to stay here reading and writing for hours on end. Unfortunately I am having very little access to the internet these days and what little I can have is, at best, precarious.

By the way, another thing I have been wondering about of late is, what can be happening to the PCs of so many people in our community, at least among my friends. Do you think there is some meaning to the fact that so many cannot post pictures or videos, etc?

As to me, I am counting the days to the moment I will be able to again sit down at pleasure at my computer and make long posts full of images, videos and the like.

Best Wishes,

Luis Miguel G.

Luis,

I cannot tell you how fortunate I am and how sometimes I take these things for granted.

To be within reach of some of the greatest art collections in the world. To be a part of a continent that along with Northern Africa saw the growth of the classical arts as we know them is to be spoilt beyond words.

You live in a part of the world which carried an ancient and wonderful art heritage' of which you are rightly proud, and which influenced many artists through its links with Spain and Portugal. I

Unfortunately the Spanish and to some degree the Portugese destroyed as much as they brought, but, what they learned can never be assessed accurately.

I yearn to visit SouthAmerica, and in particular, Peru and Equador. The vibrant contribution in musical diversity brought new levels to European classical music and saved that art from stagnation.

Can you believe that in my 60 plus years I have visited France only once and still never got to see Paris galleries, however I saw great art in HonFleur. In real terms Paris is only 300 miles by road and sea yet that 20 mile barrier makes it just that bit expensive to undertake. London is less than 20 miles.

On my doorstep I have one of the best collections of Turner at Petworth House......the list goes on and on. If I can ever find a way in which we can mutually share by visiting each other consider it achieved.

This computer business is painful but like early radio will be a passing phase. Already with things like Google earth and SatNavs I can explore corners of Russia and China, of NorthAfrica and Australasia.

To stand in front of some of the huge works of art or architecture is something awesome and only a generation ago almost unheard of for the average man.

We owe it to the future to see what is good now and preserve it like the Pre-Raphelites did. I have worked in gardens where the brick walls are built of hand made bricks and the garden doors made by carpenters without a single nail using dowels and joints. These were made at a time when industrialisatio was expanding what was then the British Empire. I am so proud of our acheivements as a nation and so sorry for the price that so many paid to make us rich.

Your continent has a great future but also huge challenges in terms of global warming. It is so important that your people retain an identity in a homogenising world.

Please don't feel that you MUST respond, I know of your challenges. You will overcome because you know the priorities.

Your friend Roger