Pre-Raphaelites - Victorian Avant-Garde at the Tate Britain

Have you ever walked into a room and been truly overwhelmed by what you see? As a real fan of all things Pre-Raphaelite, I had the privilege of having this exact feeling when I walked into the Tate Britain when I recently went to visit their current special exhibition.

This time last year, I posted a blog with a small review of my northern Pre-Raphaelite tour (which you can read here), but this year it was the turn of the South. The exhibition is called Pre-Raphaelites - Victorian Avant-Garde, a vast collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and other objects spanning the entire movement. The collection itself was awe-inspiring - it is as I've mentioned a very rare experience to see every painting you have ever loved in one single space, and I was simply blown away by the variety of pieces they had on show. I thought I would share with you a few of the pieces on display, but as I have said in the past they can only be truly enjoyed 'in the flesh.'

The first room of the exhibition contained portraits of the artists as well as earlier pieces by the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Millais, Holman Hunt and Rossetti.

Millais - Christ in the House of his Parents

Holman Hunt - Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus

Millais - Isabella

The second room highlighted the Pre-Raphaelites' interest in history and mythology - with paintings and other objects reflecting their fascination with times past.

Paolo E Francesca by Alexander Munroe which was inspired by the same story as the painting below.

Paolo E Francesca Da Rimini by Rossetti

 The Lady of Shallott (illustration) by Holman Hunt 

One of the highlights for me of this room was seeing one of the very few existing copies of Tennyson's poetry published by Moxon, which included several illustrations by the Pre-Raphaelites. It happened to be open on my favourite of the illustrations, The Lady of Shallott by Holman Hunt, the painting of which was also exhibited. 

The Lady of Shallott, Holman Hunt

The next room contained a small selection of pieces which highlight the Pre-Raphaelites attention to detail in their depictions of nature. The main highlight of this room was of course Millais' Ophelia - if it hadn't been so busy in there (and rightfully so!) I would have spent all day infront of her. Other important pieces in that room include Millais' portrait of John Ruskin and the Hireling Shepherd by Holman Hunt. 

                            

Ophelia by Millais

                            

The Hireling Shepherd by Holman Hunt

The room that follows contains a large group of paintings with another of the main Pre-Raphaelite themes - religion and morality. This room contains some truly awe inspiring and rather imposing paintings, including some of my favourites from the founding brotherhood. 

The Awakening Conscience by Holman Hunt

The Annunciation by Rossetti

The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple by Holman Hunt

The final highlights of the exhibition then move through the later period of the Pre-Raphaelite movement which focuses on aestheticism and beauty. Here you will find some of the more enchanting pieces focused on women by Rossetti and some fine examples of works relating to the Arts and Crafts movement as well as some of the Kelmscott printing work by William Morris. 

Lady Lilith by Rossetti

A Vision of Fiametta by Rossetti 

This really is just the tip of the iceberg of the collection that is on display - if like me you are a Pre-Raphaelite fan this exhibition is unmissable, it is a real honour to get to see all of these paintings in one space.
Pre-Raphaelites - Victorian Avant-Garde is open until 13th January 2012 at the Tate Britain. 

(note - everything in this blog is my opinion; I have not been endorsed to advertise the exhibition as this is simply a review/summary. All images of paintings belong to their respective owners)

time

I don't often post unfinished work on here but I thought I would share this. Started putting together a layout for a tattoo design for a friend, with lots of different personal touches. I am by no means a tattoo artist so I don't know if this would actually work as a tattoo but I thought I would put my own style to the piece. It's intended to cover most of the arm. Wanted to show the line work, as I might not put colour to this myself. What do you think?

England

I fancied doing something type based again, it's been a while. This slogan was written on a gift I saw in a shop and it inspired me to do something tea-related. (Like I don't do enough tea related things? nevermind!) I wanted something bold and simple. What do you think?

girl

Finally managed to finish my sugar skull girl artwork today. Wanted to go for a cameo style which is why I added the blue background. Would love to hear what you think?

pencil

I don't usually post works in progress on the blog but I thought I would share this one as I haven't posted in a while. I intend to give this sketch some clean linework and some mega bright colours like my sugar skull piece, but for now here's the pencil work before I started applying ink. Within the next week or so I should have the finished piece up on here so keep your eyes peeled!

script

Recently I've been interested in calligraphic type styles and tattoo style flourishes, and I decided to have a go at putting together a little design. I settled on the four "bohemian ideals" from the movie Moulin Rouge that I recently rewatched for the umpteenth time; Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love.

inking my design up with my trusty dip pen

What I came up with is loosely based on an existing typeface that I came across, borrowing an ampersand from a different typeface for a more unusual look. I'd love to hear what you think!

hideout

Just thought I would share a quick logo design that I did for a new temporary venture a friend of mine has started called The Hideout. It was just a simple design based on an existing font that I did a hand drawn version of. The project is soon to be under way and so the logo needed to be done fast, but I am quite pleased with the outcome!

The Hideout is a recording space for musicians and emerging talent based in Guildford. If you are interesting in recording some material with some brilliant engineers, check out their Facebook page and do get in touch; but be quick as they will only be there for a couple of months!

Album

Today I was featured on Illustration Rally's Album Cover Rally. Before I entered I had a browse at some of the things that were already up and there's some beautiful pieces on there, go have a look! Illustration Rally always have great open submissions going on so keep an eye out on their blog - you can also follow them on twitter at @Illustration_R.

When I saw the rally I had a couple of album ideas in mind but I decided to settle on Katy Perry's Teenage Dream as the sweet sugary theme of the album lends itself quite well to my work, and I wanted to experiment with some new kinds of type. I also wanted to make a feature of the famous blue hair that Katy was sporting at various events when the album came out. The type on my new banner above is an extension of the type I designed for this piece. The the above image is the variation I settled on for the rally, which is featured here.

I decided to include a few of the other variations in this post as I was quite pleased with all of them!

bright

Today I've been experimenting with Photoshop a little more than I normally would, having a go at constructing pattern designs in a kind of digital collage. I wanted to try and mix up colours and patterns and see what I could do - I'm not sure how I feel about what I've come up with but I do feel that it's a step in a good direction! I would love to hear what you think - let me know in the comments. Thanks! x