The Lady of Shalott | Reflections: Van Eyck and the Pre-Raphaelites | National Gallery

What attracted the Pre-Raphaelites to Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’? And how did the convex mirror from van Eyck’s ‘Arnolfini Portrait’ come to play an essential role in their depictions of the mysterious weaver and her deadly curse?
Reflections: Van Eyck and The Pre-Raphaelites
2 October 2017 - 2 April 2018
Sunley Room
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Discover how van Eyck’s 'Arnolfini Portrait' was one of the beacons by which the Pre-Raphaelites forged a radical new style of painting.
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Acquired by the National Gallery in 1842, the Arnolfini Portrait informed the Pre-Raphaelites’ belief in empirical observation, their ideas about draughtsmanship, colour and technique, and the ways in which objects in a picture could carry symbolic meaning.
The exhibition will bring together for the first time the 'Arnolfini Portrait' with paintings from the Tate collection and loans from other museums, to explore the ways in which Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896) and William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), among others, were influenced by the painting in their work.
This exhibition is organised by the National Gallery in collaboration with Tate Britain.
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[@JimmyFoxhound]

I love this poem! Loreena McKennitt set this poem to music and it’s one of my favorite songs ever! This was a very interesting video, thank you!

[@escultorjuandelgadom-prat]

It seems as if the shadows tinged the mirror leaving us half sick for the beauty. Thanks for the video.

[@VetsrisAuguste]

Why isn’t there any mention of how mirrors are in fact used in the process of weaving a tapestry. During the process of weaving, the weavers only ever see their work from the back side or in reflection through a mirror. It’s only after the tapestry is finished and removed from the loom that it can be turned around and viewed from the front.

[@robbielu22]

WOW great to hear the poem and see the imagery connected to it! I could watch this video a number of times.!

[@mteresavaldes2251]

Well done