April, 2021 - Of Art and Wine

Waterhouse Cracks the Mirror, and Wines of Anglophonia: USA.

Boreas by John William Waterhouse, 1903. Click the image to magnify.

Boreas, that is a strange sounding name, not often spoken these days, except in terms like aurora borealis. That of course conjures up images of the cold of the far north and the lands of the northern lights. In fact, Boreas is the name of the ancient Greek God of the North Wind, who carried off the daughter of the king of Athens. He took her off to live with him in Thrace, where they became the king and queen of the winds. In Waterhouse’s painting we see old Boreas at work in a late Victorian setting, where a beautiful young woman wearing a spring flower in her hair seems about to be lifted up by a strong wind. The angle at which her body cuts across the painting indicates that she might not long be standing. The grasses and flowers lean heavily to the left, and the trees in the background bend to that same strong wind. Her blue-violet wrap serves only to show the force of that wind as it billows out from her as she is about to be swept off her feet and taken away. The protective positioning of her arms is emphasized by her shawl in full sail.

Yet amid all this action, the woman maintains the solemn, appropriately melancholy face associated with the female subjects of the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites. She is a perfect heroine of one of the tragic tales that they often represented, somehow resigned to her inescapable fate. So dramatic is this painting, it could serve as a promotional clip for a Masterpiece Theatre drama.

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was born around the time that the Pre-Raphaelites were getting started on their journey toward a romanticized realism based on the myths and legends of the past and the desire to break free of the academic dictates related to the art of Raphael (see the previous article on the Pre-Raphaelites). While John Everett Millais could be quite dramatic, his Ophelia being a prime example of that drama in storytelling, to me Waterhouse seems to take that storytelling into what could be called the cinematic. The advent of the camera and the photographic image, which toward the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th turned toward making pictures move, had effects that rippled through the visual arts on many levels.

Waterhouse was not alone in this move to action packed scenes in which every element was designed to tell a story. Across the Channel or La Manche, as the French say, Jean-Léon Gérôme, a leading academician and romantic painter, moved into near photographic storytelling, including doing paintings that later influenced movie images. Take a look at this painting, and tell me if you think this scene looks familiar.

Pollice Verso, sometimes called “thumbs up” by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872.

Yes, of course, we have seen versions of this in countless movies, from Demetrius and the Gladiators to Spartacus. It is a painting that helped create that “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” idea about how life and death were determined in the Roman arena. The actual title means “turning the thumb,” but the interpretations of what was going on in this painting lead to the verdict that thumbs up meant to spare the life of the fallen gladiator. And speaking of gladiators, the Ridley Scott movie by that name, Gladiator, was inspired by this very painting by Gérôme.

Among Waterhouse’s most famous paintings of a legend involving a beautiful young woman doomed by a curious curse is his series on The Lady of Shalott. The artist did three versions of it over the years from 1888 to 1915. The story is told in three paintings, like a mini-series, and is based upon the 1832 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson with the same name. It is the retelling of an Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolet. In brief a beautiful young woman is confined to her home on an island because of a curse that will fall upon her should she ever leave. Her only view of the outside world is by looking at the mirror image of what goes on outside her windows. One day, though, she happens to see a handsome young man. From here let’s allow Waterhouse to tell the tale.

Shadow, the first painting in the series on The Lady of Shalott by J.W. Waterhouse, 1888. Click image to magnify.

Act One: Here is the fair damsel sitting at her weaving, but dreaming of that world beyond what her mirror reflects. Isolated on an island, her only outlet is weaving what she sees into a tapestry. Her pose is one of ennui. Her scarlet dress a symbol of the underlying passions that stir in her soul. The contrast of that wistful pose full of longing and the brilliant red dress indicate an incipient conflict in her being, and the temptation of the forbidden fruit offered up by that world outside her windows. Then one day, she sees this handsome, noble knight, none other than Sir Lancelot of the Lake, himself.

Lancelot, the second work in the series The Lady of Shalott by J.W. Waterhouse, 1888. Click image to magnify.

Act Two: Elaine first sees the reflection of the handsome young knight and is moved to gaze directly upon him by leaving her accustomed place at her weaving. A bit of a change of costume is required as this lovely white gown symbolizes the purity of her sudden love for Lancelot. We can see that her movement to leave causes the balls of thread to go tumbling to the floor as she moves to free herself from the entangling strings of yarn. Her face is no longer dreamy, but in fact is quite determined to move out of her isolation. However, as she does, the mirror cracks from side-to-side just behind her, unleashing the curse, which is death.

The Lady of Shalott, here in the final painting of the series by J.W. Waterhouse, 1888 tate.org.uk Click image to magnify.

Act Three: Here Elaine sets off on her fateful journey down the river that takes her away from her island. Not unlike Millais’ Ophelia, she has but little of life left, represented here by two of the three candles being already blown out. She is about to let go of the chain that moors the boat to venture into the real world, all the time carrying with her the tapestry that shows what she thought life to be like.

Waterhouse is credited by some modern art historians as presenting this as an allegorical painting, representing the women of his day as wanting to break free of the limitations that society imposed on them, regardless of the costs. Think of Lizzie Siddal from part one of this blog on the Pre-Raphaelites, who gave up her work selling hats to become an artist’s model, a job that put her morals in question. Waterhouse’s series of paintings, so full of age-old symbolism about female sexuality, and how male-dominated society seeks to inhibit it by inhibiting women in general, gives the viewer a colorful, skillfully painted mini-series with cinematic images worth being visualized in film. It is Waterhouse’s detail in the telling of the story, and the poses he gives the character of Elaine that make his work here look like elaborate storyboards for a film shoot. In a way it seems that his art was one of the forerunners of the cinema itself.

Elaine, detail of the Lady of Shalott by J.W. Waterhouse, 1888. Click image to magnify.

Finally, in this detail of Elaine’s face, we have what Sunset Boulevard’s Norma Desmond would have wanted, a close-up worthy of Cecil B. DeMille.

Sources for this article: “John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shalott” Tate Britain Art and Artists tate.org.uk

“Painting of the Week: John William Waterhouse The Lady of Shalott” from Daily Art Magazine dailyartmagazine.com

“Lizzie Siddal, Pre-Raphaelite Muse and Artist” marinamade.me

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

Wines of Anglophonia: U.S.A.

Funicular car high above the Napa Valley on the way to Sterling Winery.

As the previous article on the British Pre-Raphaelites included the beginning of our world tour of wines made in Anglophone countries, it must continue with the biggest producer, the U.S.A. When talking about wine in the U.S., the mind immediately goes to California, and its neighboring states on the Pacific Coast. However, the story of wine in the U.S. has a much more varied history. While we think that America’s first western name came from that of Americo Vespucci, the Italian explorer whose last name was given to the continents of the Western Hemisphere, the first Europeans to explore what is now the east coast of the U.S. called it, “Vinland” because of the numerous grape vines they found there. The first actual vineyards were planted in New Mexico in the early 1600s. The oldest still operating winery in the country, however, is in New York State. The Brotherhood Winery was founded in 1839 by a religious order to make sacramental and “medicinal” wines and still produces wine and maintains a restaurant and wine tasting rooms.

Ohio used a native grape called Catawba to make wines starting in 1802. They even made a rather celebrated sparkling wine and had a thriving wine-growing region until it was hit by a fungus. They moved off to the area around Lake Erie in New York State known as the Finger Lakes, which turned out to have a perfect climate for growing grapes to make high quality Riesling and Gewurtztraminer wines. It was also not affected by the “mildew” as they called the fungus, so the industry grew. In fact, one third of all wines produced in the U.S. come from New York State. New York even has vineyards on Long Island, which contains the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, but also Suffolk and Nassau counties, which is where one finds the wineries. Remember that the next time you visit New York City.

The Finger Lakes in New York State near Lake Erie

Speaking of American wine growing ventures interrupted by nature and its various “mildews,” Missouri may actually have been the source of the phylloxera contagion, a fungus that got transported to France in the late 1800s and devastated the vineyards there. The fungus that rots the roots of the vines is native to North America. Now not to cast aspersions on Missouri and its wine culture, it must be noted that it was German settlers there in the 1840s who even set up their first towns with lots designed to grow grapes. Hermann, Missouri, is still the center of Missouri wine country. Notably, it was industrious American viticulturists who worked with the phylloxera resistent root stocks that some American grapes had to create a hybrid that helped save the wine industry in France.

While the Spaniards brought wine culture to North America by planting vines in New Mexico, that culture spread to the perfect wine-growing areas on the Pacific Coast. One immediately thinks of California’s Napa Valley and of its neighbor, Sonoma. Sadly both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys suffered great devastation in September of 2020 because of the Glass Hill fire which destroyed many homes, several wineries, and some fine restaurants in the area around St. Helena and many homes in Sonoma. Much, however, is still there. For a more thorough look at the wines of that region in California, look at this post, “Wayne Thiebault’s San Francisco and Napa Valley Wines” ofartandwine.com.

Just to the north of California is Oregon, which is making its mark by specializing. It is one of the foremost producers of Pinot Noir. The wine drew special attention after Paul Giamatti’s character in the movie, Sideways, praised its qualities to the detriment of Merlot. Oregon has become a “monograpist” region, but what a region. The Willamette Valley is a perfect location for growing Pinot Noir grapes and the production of that most drinkable of wines.

While Oregon specializes, Washington State has varied micro-climates that allow it to diversify. The Columbia River Valley has made Washington the U.S.A’s second largest wine growing state. Washington produces high quality Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, as well as Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and Chardonnay. It’s Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, just outside of Seattle, not only has a long history of fine wine making, but also has a calendar of wine-tasting events and jazz concerts, which will hopefully once again be in full-swing as the COVID-19 virus is calmed by vaccines.

Finally, one of the elements in the local wine culture of Washington is Cellars Wine Club which operates an online wine club. Its experts travel the country and the world to select the wines for its various wine clubs. It has a club for every level of wine enthusiasm and budget. From the Single-Bottle Club to Premium Case Club, there is something for everyone. Take a look at the page on this blog which is dedicated to Cellars Wine Club ofartandwine.com.

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©marjorie vernelle 2021

Coming Soon: Goya’s Maja, the Duchess of Alba, and Sherry from Andalucia.

Two of Francisco Goya’s famous Majas, this one clothed, the other one nude, are reputed to have used the Duchess of Alba, Maria Cayetana de Silva, as his model. For sure he did paint several pictures of her as herself. The story of this relationship between painter and this model from Spanish nobility has even been the subject of movies, like The Naked Maja. However, the life of the duchess, as model and duchess, is better than any Hollywood movie. And then there are the wines of Andalucia where her country estate was.

Pre-Raphaelites and Melancholy Women, plus Wine in the Anglophone World

Detail of Ophelia by John Everett Millais, 1851-1852. Now in the Tate Britain in London, U.K.

Melancholia is described as a subset of depression that includes feelings of extreme despair and guilt. We cannot say exactly what feelings of guilt this famous Shakespearean character may have had, except over letting her father and brother come between her and the man she loved to the point where he rejected her. The he, Hamlet, also later killed her father. Extreme, I know, but this is Shakespeare. The end result was her tragic suicide by drowning. Here we see a depiction of her as she lets herself drift off to an inevitable death.

As one might guess from the subject matter, the Pre-Raphaelites were a group of 19th century British painters dedicated to returning to certain aspects of the art that came before Raphael. Founded in 1848, quite a revolutionary year in European history with revolts against monarchies throughout Europe (all of which failed at that time), the group sought to overturn the strict rules of the formal art academy. Those rules were based upon the principles found in the work of the High Renaissance as exemplified by Raphael. None of these painters despised the work of Raphael. What they did not like was the codified way that it was used to produce art, an art that had become overly-academic and so much less creative. These artists wanted to go back to the early Renaissance of the Quatrocento (1400s) to capture the nature of things and represent them in hyper-realism. This “realism” came with a heavy dose of romanticism, as the subjects were normally based upon myth and legend.

John Everett Millais self-portrait, Dante Gabriel Rossetti self-portrait, William Holman Hunt by F.G Stephens, as they were in 1847.

This group of rebellious looking young men were the founders of the group, which later consisted also of William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederick George Stephens, and Thomas Woolner. They were surrounded by a variety of poets, writers, musicians, and other creatives who wanted to change the way the arts were expressed. These painters emphasized great detail with lush and vibrant colors, all to tell the often tragic stories handed down in Shakespearean plays and in Arthurian legends. This brings us to the melancholy women and one in particular named Lizzie Siddal.

Sketch of Lizzie Siddal by Millais, 1852 and scene of candle heated bathtub from BBC production Desperate Romantics. Photo credit to Laurence Cedrowicz

The focus of the painter John Everett Millais for his painting of Ophelia was to create an accurate picture of what her drowning would have looked like. He scouted a spot along the Hogsmill River that matched the description in Shakespeare. He labored there for a number of months since it was anathema for the Pre-Raphaelites to finish their outdoor scenes in the studio. Millais painted the outdoors, while actually outdoors, to capture the exact nature of the location. (Notice in the painting the detail in his treatment of the plants, trees, and flowers along the river.)

Then it was time to set things up in the studio for the model, who was a beautiful 19-year-old who had worked selling hats. Her name was Elizabeth Siddal, and she goes down as probably art history’s most dedicated artist’s model. Millais persuaded her to model for his Ophelia by dressing her in a gown laced with silver that he had bought for £4 in a flea market (fleas included?) and putting her into a tub of water that was heated by a series of candles (see the BBC photo above). She modeled for Millais over a period of four months before one of the two great tragedies of her life occurred.

As any artist knows, the art demands full concentration, and so it was when one afternoon Millais was so intent upon his work that he did not see that the candles had gone out. Lizzie continued floating in cold water without saying a word, dutifully holding firm to the pose. She, of course, fell ill. Most say of a cold; I’d say pneumonia. Her father threatened to sue Millais, who was about 22 years old at the time and came from a wealthy family. Millais agreed to pay for her medical expenses, about £50 which would be almost $10,000 in today’s currency. Though she recovered, the incident had a deleterious effect on her health for the rest of her life.

Elizabeth Siddal by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1854. Click to magnify.

Frida Kahlo famously said of her own life, “There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.” Lizzie Siddal could have paraphrased that by replacing trolley with bathtub and Diego with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Since he was a close companion and co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Rossetti came to know Lizzie. In terms of documenting her beauty, with her as his companion, he could feast his eyes upon her at will. In fact, Rossetti’s sister, the poet Christina Rossetti said, “He feeds upon her face by day and by night. And she with true kind eyes looks back at him.” Sure signs of a tragedy.

And so it was. Their relationship lasted off and on for about nine years in which Rossetti energetically shared his good looks with many another woman. However, finally Lizzie and Rossetti married. It did not last long, and their first child was born dead. Lizzie suffered severely from post-partum depression and took a dose of laudanum, which is derived from the opium poppy. She died from it at the age of 31 in 1862. Rossetti laid a manuscript of the poems he had been writing about her in the coffin saying, “I have often been writing at those poems when Lizzie was ill and suffering, and I might have been attending to her, and now they shall go.” He later admitted to be haunted by her ghost. merrynaillingham.com

Now, not to present Lizzie as a goddess who let herself become a doormat, she won critical acclaim from none other than John Ruskin, the leading art critic of the day for her painting. Yes, she exhibited with the Pre-Raphaelites as a painter herself. Her love of poetry was what drew her into the world of these artists, where she could earn more money modeling than selling hats and thereby support her desire to become a poet. However, it was her painting that ultimately drew Ruskin’s attention, along with his support for her as a superb artist’s model. He even paid her 150 pounds sterling per year to have first right of refusal for her paintings. The Tate has a page on its website for her, tate.org.uk.

Ophelia’s hand from Millais painting All of the flowers have symbolic meanings.

This detail of Ophelia’s hand provides a lot of insight into the goals and the achievements of the Pre-Raphaelites. Though their painting has often been criticized for being overly romantic and melodramatic, the skill and dedication with which they approached the reproduction of the reality they saw has to be appreciated. Here one feels the sensation of the water that is floating Ophelia and these flowers away. Each of the flowers has meaning, from the violets, which also form her necklace and stand for faithfulness, to the red poppy that symbolized the death that their opium often brought. Shakespeare wrote a line in Hamlet for Gertrude in which she speaks of Ophelia’s death, describing the young woman as having fallen into a stream while picking flowers and being swept away, all the while singing. A bright red poppy is prominent in Millais painting, positioned near Ophelia’s upturned hand.

As time passed the Pre-Raphaelites were overtaken by the Impressionists, another radical (at that time) movement. However, John William Waterhouse (1949-1917), born at about the time of the creation of the Pre-Raphaelites, was to carry that movement into the early 20th century with what seems to me a more cinematic touch. TO BE CONTINUED…

Sources for this post are the following: “The Story of Ophelia” from the Tate Britain tate.org.uk; “John Everett Millais’ Ophelia – 3 Facts” news.artnet.com; “Lizzie Siddal, Pre-Raphaelite Muse and Artist” marinamade.me; “If Ophelia Could Talk, the True Story of the Iconic Artist-Muse” messynessychic.com

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

Wine and Anglophonia

Anglophonia? Okay, I admit to taking liberalities with the language, but what I mean to address is wine in the world not of the Mediterranean Latins or the Aegean Greeks, but in the lands of the English-speaking. The Romans are the ones really credited with the spread of vineyards and wine production throughout their vast empire. That empire included the British Isles and no, they were not left out when it came to the cultivation of the grape.

Bolney Wine Estate Vineyards in Sussex Photo credit Amber Dyer inews.co.uk

While one might not automatically think of England as a wine-producing country, in fact, the southern regions of England, like Essex, Kent, and Sussex, have a number of vineyards. There are abour 500 working vineyards in the UK, and many of them allow visitors. For a list of the 12 Best as of 2019, click the link under the picture above. The limestone soil (chalk) found there allows for the planting of a number of varieties of grapes, including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, two of the most popular and useful varieties for wine making. One thing often noticed about UK wines is that they are expensive. This comes from there being small quantities of grapes grown compared to other regions on the planet and the labor-intensive way of making wine. This increases the quality and thus the higher price. To discuss these matters and tell “All About English Wines,” Wine Folly has an article to do just that, winefolly.com

British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley continues the Pacific Coast wine growing adventure.

Canada is another of those places that one associates with such cold weather that grape growing must surely be impossible. Au contrare mes chers amis! The warm currents that come up the Pacific Coast allow for many of the same growing conditions found in our own Washington State to continue over the border into British Columbia. There the Okanagan Valley is the star producer of wines. Vineyards with names such as Tantalus, Laughing Stock, and Burrowing Owl all produce 90 point Pinot Noir, Riesling, Merlot and Syrah wines. Meanwhile on the other side of that vast country, the Niagara region of Ontario has become quite famous for wine in its town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. While Chardonnay production is quite common, there is also a speciality of a different type, Ice Wine. For that the Peller Estates Winery offers a unique experience. One can have one’s ice wine served while one is in an igloo! Nothing like a true taste of Canadian cold while sipping a delightful sweet wine.

Cycling at New Zealand’s Marlborough wine growing region. Photo credit discover-the-world.com

Australia and New Zealand, yes, the two always come trippingly off the tongue together, and they do share a general geographic location and produce good quality wines. In Australia, Canberra and New South Wales are the stars. Clonakilla Winery in the Canberra District was the first to notice the warm days and cool nights in the region would favor the cultivation of the grape. Clonakilla produces very fine Riesling and Shiraz. Meanwhile New South Wales’ Hunter Valley knew wine grape cultivation since the 1860s. Here there are wineries that encourage tasting and food pairing. Across the sea a bit lies New Zealand, where its Hawke’s Bay area has become known as the “Bordeaux of New Zealand” for its production of rich red wines. Lonely Planet has a great top ten wineries article that covers Australia and New Zealand, and yes, there are pictures of kangeroos, lonelyplanet.com

Anthonij Rupert Winery in South Africa. Photo credit Danie Nel winemag.com

South Africa certainly wins awards for having a beautiful wine-growing region, but it doesn’t stop there. South Africa produces many world-class wines, such as the Anthonij Rupert medium bodied Bordeaux blend or Plume Palace’s Shiraz Rosé, or a Raised By Wolves Sémillon. The grapes grown in South Africa tend to be Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. Most of the wine producing areas are relatively close to Cape Town, such as the Franschhoek area, named by Dutch settlers for the French Huguenots who first settled there in the late 1600s. That area is protected by the mountains that also capture the cool ocean breezes. The terrain is mainly sandstone and receives the benefit of the many streams that come from the mountains that surround it. South Africa also has a vast coastal growing region. For more on that click the link above.

While that is a quick trip around the English-speaking world and its viniculture, that is not all. In the Anglophone world, the major producer of wines is the United States, but that is something TO BE CONTINUED…

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Coming Soon: Waterhouse Cracks the Mirror and Wines of Anglophonia: USA.

John William Waterhouse was also a Pre-Raphaelite though he was a baby when the movement started. He, however, continued the tradition with a move toward a slightly different look. Here is the second painting in the series on Lady Shalott, a damsel in the Arthurian legends who broke from her restricted life in order to gaze upon the knight Lancelot. In it one sees a flare for the dramatic that takes on a rather cinematic touch. In particular, just behind her is the mirror that cracked to signal the curse that befell her, yet another Pre-Raphaelite melancholy lady.