young hearts run free

As promised, photos of the church of St. Martin-on-the-Hill, Scarborough. Nineteenth century. I was delighted to see that the Pre-Raphaelites worked on this church, designing the glass, decorations, and furnishings. Although I'm not the biggest fan of nineteenth-century art, I am obsessed with the Pre-Raphaelites. Young, passionate, romantic; must love the Brotherhood.

Le church.


Looking towards the altar from the rood screen.


Beauty of Gothic Revival.


Luxurious.


Gorgeous organ case was one of the highlights.


And the pulpit was a pleasant surprise.


It was designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
aka my favourite Pre-Raphaelite brotha.


Stunning ceiling in the lady chapel.


And wall painting in the lady chapel.


Permanent seat reservations.


And now for some very random bits of glass.
I just love those sacred hearts bursting into flame.


"A tribute of respect and sympathy to the Princess of Wales, 1872."


"Stretching his hand up to the stars,
often a man forgets the flowers at his feet."
--Jeremy Bentham


I ADORE this window in the south aisle.
It depicts Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary, and Mary of Bethany.
They are actually portraits of the (in)famous Pre-Raphaelite models.


Annie Miller as the Magdalene.

This is fitting because she was the most
"promiscuous" of the models. She posed for
several of the Pre-Raphs and had a tumultous
affair with the artist William Holman Hunt,
who discovered her when she was a London barmaid.

Woman in Yellow (Annie Miller)
by Rossetti, 1863.


In the centre is Georgiana Burne-Jones
as the Virgin Mary.
She was the wife of Edward Burne-Jones,
the Pre-Raph who designed the window,
so it's fitting she is depicted as the ideal wife
and mother in the centre.


Early portrait of Georgiana Burne-Jones
at age twenty-two, by her husband, 1863.


And last, but certainly not least,
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Siddal as Mary of Bethany.


She was the wife, muse, and obsession of Rossetti.
As well as an artist and poet in her own right.


You may know her better from this.
Ophelia, by John Everett Millais, c. 1851.
(aka the one where she had to pose in freezing cold
bathwater for hours and got really sick afterwards).
Can you tell I liked my class on these paintings at GW?


And this, painted after her death at age
thirty-two from laudanum and ill health.
Beata Beatrix, by Rossetti, 1864-70.
Rossetti went a little mad after her death,
even had her body exhumed at one point.


And as we were leaving, the west rose window
was bursting with sunset flames.
xx