The first two paintings in the presentation set the tone and were used to support a brief explanation of what Pre-Raphaelite art was: "A 19th century group of rebellious young artists who, disillusioned with the artistic climate of their day, sought to rediscover the purity of art by creating an entirely new artistic style that drew upon the middle ages, the bible, classical mythology and nature for inspiration, emulating the work of the great Italian artists before Raphael (hence their name: pre-Raphaelite). " [definition from www.pre-raphaelites.com].

Before looking at the paintings and prints drawn from The Lady of Shallot, we went over the story with a few verses from the poem thrown in. Then we looked at each painting and print, with the kids in the class explaining what was happening in the picture, with particular attention to what items each artist  included in his picture. The painting that was the popular favorite is John William Waterhouse's Lady in the boat as shown at right.

Some of the children wanted to know why the curse was placed on the Lady; we really don't know but an imaginative young lady in England, Alice Bowen, wrote a poem (at age 10!) called "Why the Lady of Shalott was Cursed" which gives her explanation. If you would like to learn more about the Lady of Shallot or about Pre-Raphaelite art, please see our Lady of Shallott Links or Pre-Raphaelite Links.

To view the full effect of the presentation, I strongly recommend using the full-screen view, which you get to by clicking on the slideshow icon (shown at right) at the bottom-right-hand corner of the browser. Unfortunately the presentation only works in Internet Explorer; it ought to work in AOL but I have not tested that yet.

I really enjoyed talking to Mrs. Jones' class; the pupils were bright, interested and really engaged in learning.

--Ray Trygstad
Assistant Director for Information Technology
Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Campus, Illinois Institute of Technology
Wheaton, Illinois, USA
02/27/01