12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Read if you're interested, Jun 27 2007
By Stephen A. Troutt - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pre Raphaelite Sisterhood (Paperback)
One can stumble here if you are looking for a 'casual' book about the Pre-Raphaelites, this isn't it. But if you are interested in truly understanding these women and their times, this is a must read in my opinion.
It is so easy to forget how impossibly HARD it was for a woman to achieve any kind of equality of chance or treatment in those days. Obedient 'saint' (wife never seen or heard) or wanton 'sinner'(prostitute) were the roles they were given or forced into by a overall society that was totally unable to grant them any artistic or intellectual value. Even for a woman to model for an artist was to be considered no better than a common streetwalker.
But these women were the models, the muses, the lovers, the wives, the inspiration and the despair, sometimes the victors and sometimes the victims of the movement. That these women, mostly low born, were able to leave any mark was a mark of achievement. That they forced open the door to equal treatment even a little was a stellar accomplishment against terrible odds.
If you are interested in these Artists, theirs times, the society they lived in - if you truly want to understand their art, this book is simply a must read. As the saying goes 'Behind every great man is a greater woman'.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, a book that reveals the PRS, April 8 2000
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pre Raphaelite Sisterhood (Paperback)
I found Jan Marsh's book very interesting. She takes the time to try and give a ful account of the women attached to the Pre-Rapaelite Brotherhood. Her research seems thorough, but she also seems to fall into the trap of Victorian notions of the tragic woman. Some of the women did lead tragic lives, but I wish she had down-played this one dimensional aspect to the Pre-Raphaelite Sistrhood.