Monday, March 15, 2010

Desperately Romantic

If, like me, you love romantic sumptuous furnishings, beautiful paintings and gorgeous actors and actresses, you would love the BBC 2 production, "Desperate Romantics". The last two episodes will be screened on the ABC (Australia) this Sunday 20th March. The interiors of Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti's studio could be loosely described as rough luxe meets bohemia. Unfortunately, I was unable to find very many images of the interiors on the web, but these stills from the series may whet your appetite. This is Rossetti and his model, Lizzie Siddall:

The members of the the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - John Everett Millais, Rossetti and William Holman Hunt. Second from the left is a fictional character, Fred:

The series is set in 1851 and explores the lives and loves of the artists:

Hunt and Rossetti in the studio with model Annie Miller:

The artists in a tavern:

The actresses resemble the women used as models by the Brotherhood, with their long, thick, wavy red hair:


One of the most interesting aspects for me is the depiction of the artists recreating some of their best-known paintings. In this case, Millais is painting "Ophelia":

With Lizzie as his model:

Here is the real thing:

While the series has been condemned by some critics for being a type of "Carry On" film for its many sex scenes, and for what some see as the dumbing down of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, it certainly is lovely to look at.

Images courtesy of the official BBC2 "Desperate Romantics" website and "La Maison de Vie" website

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the costumes and the big flowy hair! Sounds good, I will have to check it out if they show it here...
The Lady in the lake is a pretty good replica too!
:)

Bexy said...

critics-schmitics, if its visually stunning then is defo worth a look.

is she the only woman in the world who can carry of those red frizzy curls without them looking like red frzzy curls!?!

x

the old boathouse said...

Now if I were still 14 this would have been a to die for series for me...as it is in my um thritysomething years it looks amazing and i could definetly become addicted can't believe I have missed so much. thanks for bringing it to our attention! Cheers Katherine

Em said...

That is Michelle from Being Human I think he's fab, so I will definitely be watching that.
Em x

瑋婷 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bee said...

I loved this series and it really sparked an interest in the Pre Raphalites for me, there is also a book out of the series , its also called The Desperate Romantics.
Thanks for posting about this, hugsxx

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