The Medieval Love in Victorian Painting

• Main Authors: Lo, Wei-fen, 羅薇芬
• Other Authors: Kang, Hui-an
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/76317315881657194807

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 美術學系 === 96 === The 19th century Victorian England is the first modernized mighty country in Europe. However, due to the Industrial Revolution disaffection, as well as to the nostalgia of the passing days, this progressive and rational society is filled with the air “progress into the past”, so-called “medieval revival” phenomenon, in politics, religion, literature, architecture, and art. In art, unified the British rich literature inheritance, it has produced beyond number “Medieval Love Painting” quite different from the European painting tradition. The theme of ”Medieval Love Painting” comes from mostly the medieval poetry, the ballad, the legend, the Renaissance literature and the contemporary romantic poem taking the Middle Ages as the background. On the one hand the content reflects the essence and changing of well-established “courtly love”, on the other hand it elaborates Victorians’ view of love and sex, such as the spirit of chivalry, imprisoned love, femme fatale, adultery, combination of love and death. In art manifestation, we may conclude several kinds of styles interweaving mutually. Besides the reappearance of medieval esthetics, the extremely profound naturalism initiated by Pre-Raphaelites, the inspiration of classical sculpture and Italian Renaissance art, as well as the aestheticism occurred in fin-du-siècle, those make Victorian medieval love painting graceful, sensual, sentimental, and most, exclusively unique.