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John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera"
Different from previous styles of Italian opera, Gay’s Beggar’s Opera integrated both dialogue and music into the story. This highly successful comedy lampooned common life during the 18th century and included immoral behavior of the lower classes and the drama that accompanies it. http://www.contemplator.com/history/johngay.html -
William Hogarth's "Marriage A La Mode"
Hogarth was famous in his time for his satire of political practices whether he was experimenting with Italian caricature (exaggeration of features for a desired effect) or painting in a realistic manner, Hogarth relayed an alternate view of common practices. In “Marriage-a-la-Mode”, a satirical view of arranged marriage is viewed under the lens to present the political chaos that often ensues when others interfere in relationships. -
William Blake's "Song's of Innocence"
Blake was a Romantic poet and artist known for using children as the subject of his work as opposed to the audience. His themes often centered around the world’s destruction of innocence through the treatment of children and a call for morality and correcting the sins of humanity. He often combined poetry and visual art into one work which is comparable to the one-paneled comics we see today. -
William Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey"
Probably one of the most influential poems of the Romantic period, Wordsworth was praised for his exploration of the spirituality of the poet. This aspect is what embodies the Romantic period and Wordsworth went on to publish more poems that identified with the aesthetic experiences of the artist. -
Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"
In the age where science starts getting some attention, the Romantic movement favors the traditional mode of turning away from supposed progress and towards the virtuousness that religion originally intended for humans. Frankenstein explores the idea of science, comparing it to playing God, and whether humans could handle the fruit of their own curiosity. -
17) Caryatids: St. Pancras New Church, London: by John Charles Felix Rossi.
Rossi was famous for his architectural sculpture and this one in particular is was done in the classic style famous for the Victorian era. The sculptures are, of course, part of the building. However, they are guarding it. The uniqueness to these sculptures is that beauty is a guardian here, not a threat. This would be an interesting topic to discuss in today’s world. -
John J. Audubon's "Birds of America"
Audubon came to America with aspirations of painting all the birds there. His naturalist philosophies and practices aligned well with the Transcendentalist movement led by Thoreau and Whitman later on. -
Prince Albert's "Prince Edward VII"
This painting really needed to be part of this timeline for two reasons: It was done during the Victorian era and it was personal to Queen Victoria herself. Whereas professionals often brought the arts to the palace, to me, this lithograph is special in that it shows there’s more to the stuffy aristocracy than just telling everyone what to do. There is an endearing quality to this picture of a man’s son, as if the social class of the subject and the artist do not matter. -
Octagon Houses
The Industrial Age, which started and thrived within the Victorian Era, brought rise to some new and innovative architectural styles. The Octagon house was created for practical purposes (to improve ventilation and reduce the number of dark corners), the design is very eye-catching and rare to find anymore. -
Ford Madox Brown's "The Last of England"
Ford Madox Ford was an artist who was a Pre-Raphaelite artist who followed the works of Hogarth. This painting was created during a peak in emigration from England and was inspired by this large movement. -
John Everett Millais' "Ophelia"
The Victorian age had a soft spot for the medieval and the gothic. This painting is meant to visualize the description of Ophelia’s suicide after the death of her father. -
William Holman Hunt's "The Awakening Conscience"
There is a questioning in the motives of the young woman in this painting. Her eyes are gazing out away from him longingly. Is she pulling away from her lover knowing that what she wants is not with him? Is she enjoying her place on his lap and questioning the virtuousness of such behavior. In an age where prudence was proper for women, the idea of women enjoying their sexuality was a debated for its immoral character. -
Victorian Fairy Painting
A favorite style to Queen Victoria, fairy painting took on a life of its own where artists would practically make their own stories behind the paintings and give the characters a life of their own. A revival of this style came about in the 1960’s and various cultures still enjoy it today. -
The Strangest Tradition: Post-Mortem Photography
Because of high mortality rates, preserving the memory of a family was very important to many people. Before photography, people would paint their deceased loved ones. However it’s more difficult to cover up lifeless characteristics with photography than with paint so the effect can be more creepy with a camera. -
Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations"
Dickens’ “Great Expectations” serves as a perfect representation of the desire to move up in the social classes in the Victorian era. Young Pip barely knows of his opportunities as a child, which goes to show that people are not born with the superficial boundaries of class. They are taught them. -
William Powell Frith's "The Railway Station"
Frith was a Victorian painter known for painting in the panoramic style, a method that emulates many of the skills used by photographers today. “The Railway Station” is a perfect example of focusing on both background and multiple subjects within to tell a story about the place or time of the occurrence. -
Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been called an allegory for Victorian Britain. Alice’s frustration with the creatures of Wonderland in representing a stuffy, intolerant British society that wishes to control everything surrounding them that they don’t understand gets the best of her. In turn, chaos erupts everytime Alice tries to control everyone around her. -
The Statue of Liberty (Frederic Auguste Bartholdi)
The Statue has long been thought of as a gift from France, but in reality it was more of a collaborative effort between America and France. The statue was meant to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the United States of America, despite its belatedness. From then on, this statue became a sign of comfort and open arms or people fighting oppression in other parts of the world. It was an attempt at new ideals in the upcoming 20th century. -
"The Woman's World" Oscar Wilde: Editor
“The Woman’s World” was originally a magazine set out to cover trends for females and started out as “The Lady’s World”. Once Oscar Wilde accepted the position of editor, he wished to change the name and with it, a focus to “deal not only with what women wear, but with what they think and feel” (Biography). With the emergence of an educated class of women who did more than just tend house, there was a new audience that helped the suffrage movement of the early 20th century. -
Claude Monet's "House of Parliament" series
Though Monet was French, his impressionist style was influential throughout Europe including England. When visiting England, Monet painted the House of Parliament in several paintings which highlighted different forms of light.
