THE COVER Torpy, Janet M
JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association,
08/2011, Letnik:
306, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A gentleman, Arthur Hughes (1832-1915) painted genteel subjects in a manner of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, but he never belonged to that exclusive circle. Here, Torpy features Hughes' Ophelia--a ...painting depicting a favorite character from classical literature, which was used as a cover of JAMA's August 2011 issue. Ophelia, as portrayed by Hughes in Ophelia ("And He Will Not Come Back Again"), resonates with the archetypal beauty of the English rose; a serene visage confronts the viewer. This Ophelia is hardly the mad Ophelia, depressed and raving, rending garments, singing raunchy verses, and strewing flowers and herbs as she grieves for her father and for her lost and murderous prince, in Shakespeare's play The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hughes' Ophelia stands quietly, hanging her flowers in the fronds of a willow tree; some willow pieces trail through her red, flowing hair in lieu of a bridal headdress.
The threat posed by women with books and the inherent link with their acquisition of knowledge was expressed, covertly and otherwise, and two well-known examples--Arthur Hughes' 1860 Aurora Leigh's ...Dismissal of Rodney (Tate Gallery) and Edward Burne-Jones' 1873-4 The Beguiling of Merlin (Lady Lever Art Gallery)--serve as an introduction to the value of exploring this strand of imagery. In veiled sexual terms, the author remonstrated about how crucial it was for a female reader to resist the temptation of improper or undesirable books so that ...she will not be seduced from an habitual study of the Holy Scriptures...With the time allotted to the regular perusal of the Word of God, and of performances which inculcate the principles and reinforce and illustrate the rules of Christian duty, no other kind of reading ought to be permitted to interfere. 6 The chief category, for which there are truly innumerable examples, consists of solitary affluent women reading, as in Marie Spartali Stillman's watercolors entitled Beatrice (Delaware Art Museum) of 1895-6 or Love Sonnets (Delaware Art Museum) dated 1894. (3) Shown half-length, this young woman seems a contemporary counterpart to Beatrice, in one hand clutching a few flowers near her bosom and in the other a small book up close near her face.
Christina Rossetti's illustrated book of poems "Sing-Song" included art work by Arthur Hughes, based on the poet's own sketches for each poem. Kooistra hopes to demonstrate that these manuscript ...drawings were not incidental, but rather integral, to her purposes for the book as a whole. The book became a work of composite art whose simple surfaces resonate with profound social and spiritual meanings available to both children and adults.
Many people, including the artist's wife, who is a wheelchair user, have had difficulty accessing the building. Mr Arthur Hughes said: "My wife came to the preview, but had to be lifted up the stairs ...by the taxi driver.
Caption: Arthur HUGHES (GB)/The long engagement. 1859// Birmingham, Mus. a. Art Gall. / 87
Beschriftung: Arthur HUGHES (GB) / Die lange Verlobung. 1859 // Birmingham, Mus. a. Art Gall. / 87
