videos + essays
![Sleeping Beauty — but without the Kiss: Burne-Jones and the Briar Rose series](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PrincessCloser-sm-570x350.jpg)
Sleeping Beauty — but without the Kiss: Burne-Jones and the Briar Rose series
A princess falls under a spell and sleeps for a hundred years—but Burne-Jones never shows us the kiss that awakens her.
![Paul Gauguin, <em>Nevermore</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Paul-Gauguin-Nevermore-thumb-570x350.jpg)
Paul Gauguin, Nevermore
Gauguin’s nude is suspended between dreams and reality— just like his imperialistic vision of Tahiti.
![George Frederic Watts, <em>The Minotaur</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Watts-The-Minotaur-thumb-570x350.jpg)
George Frederic Watts, The Minotaur
Inspired by a campaign to raise the age of consent, Watts harked back to the Athenian version of the Hunger Games.
![Sir Frederic Leighton, <em>Bath of Psyche</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Frederick_Leighton-Bath_of_Psyche-thumb-570x350.jpg)
Sir Frederic Leighton, Bath of Psyche
Removing nearly all references to myth, Leighton focuses on the beauty of the nude and harmonious colors.
![John William Waterhouse, <em>The Lady of Shalott</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Waterhouse-The_Lady_of_Shalott-thumb-570x350.jpg)
John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shalott
Cursed by a spell that will kill her if she leaves her castle, this romantic redhead takes a fatal boat ride.
![Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, <em>King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Edward_Burne-Jones-King_Cophetua_and_the_Beggar_Maid-thumb-570x350.jpg)
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid
Love conquers all for the legendary King Cophetua who finds love outside of his social sphere.
![Dante Gabriel Rossetti, <em>Proserpine</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti-Proserpine-thumb-570x350.jpg)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Proserpine
This mythological goddess tasted the forbidden fruit and had to face the consequences; the artist could relate.
![William Holman Hunt, <em>Claudio and Isabella</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Hunt-Claudio-and-Isabella-thumb-570x350.jpg)
William Holman Hunt, Claudio and Isabella
A moral quandary: to save his life, Claudio asks his sister Isabella for the one thing she cannot give.
![Sir John Everett Millais, <em>Ophelia</em>](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/John_Everett_Millais-Ophelia-thumb-570x350.jpg)
Sir John Everett Millais, Ophelia
The botanical accuracy of this painting is impressive, but its production wasn’t without its challenges for Millais.