Millais and his Ophelia

One of my absolute favorites when it come to British art, oh, why, art in general. The Pre-Raphaelites, as are commonly known today, were a group of English artists: painters, writers, critics, established by John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. They wanted to reform art and go back to a refreshed Classical poses and elegance in style. They looked up to the compositions of Raphael, hence the name. Ophelia that can be seen in London's Tate Britain is one of the most exquisite examples of the movement. Why mention her now?

One reason is that Ophelia is now a part of "Work in Focus" project that goes on in Tate and online. It really is amazing, how well can you participate in the life of your favorite paintings online. An absolutely lovely tool
for all those that were not able to see the painting "live", but are eager to learn. Pretty astonishing, what one can do. Check it out for yourself, sure you'll learn something new and fascinating!
More about this wonderful painting here, and the details of the "Work in Focus" project here.
A magnificent article on both: the work and project, with explanations how does "digitalisation" of art work, available here.

By the way: there is one lovely British short TV series, produced for BBC, about the Pre-Raphaelites and their doubts and inspirations, called "Desperate Romantics", worth a watch!
The Guardian writes rather well about it here.