Dante and Beatrice 1919

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale's watercolor, Dante and Beatrice, is an illustration of a scene unfolding on some steps. The palette is very muted and soft. I can imagine the artist at her easel, carefully layering the washes of color, almost reverentially building the scene. It has a quality that reminds me of Pre-Raphaelite painting. Her goal was to capture a moment of profound significance and beauty. Look at the different reactions of the figures. I think I feel a bit like Dante here, looking up at all those stairs that seem to go on forever. Fortescue-Brickdale had an amazing ability to make you feel you are looking at a real story, capturing that feeling of romantic yearning. Like how a painter such as Botticelli did before her. She really puts a twist on painting, in her own very particular style. That is what I find beautiful about the history of painting, that artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity, allowing for multiple interpretations.