An art analysis of “Isabella and the pot of Basil "by William Holman Hunt
This painting depicts noblewoman Isabella. Isabella is set to marry a nobleman, but falls in love with her brother’s employee Lorenzo. Once her brother finds out about her affair, he murders Lorenzo and scatters his body throughout the woods. In a dream Lorenzo tells Isabella where his body is buried. Later she retrieves the head of her former lover’s body and places it in a pot of basil onto an altar.
Hunt has decided to use oil on canvas as his main medium to convey the full details of the colours and art elements of the painting. In his paiting A tall woman covers most of the foreground bending over a large wooden altar post to the right of her. Wearing a semi-transparent white nightgown. A blue blanket draped around her. The altar stands on an orange cloth with yellow, white and blue symmetrical patterns. A majolica pot decorated with skulls perched atop the cloth and later. Her long, dark brown wavy hair draped over the pot. Her surrodings are contain different coloured silks draped over the background door-which appears directly behind and a bit left of her. A hanging glass lantern light inbetween the door and the woman. The marble tiles have a blue and white geometrical pattern following a white triangle and smaller bue shapes inside the tile. A blue and white shiny pot stands on the ground infront of the altar. The pot is projecting opaque steam towards the altar. Complementary and contrasting colours such as orange & white, orange & blue, white & black, white & blue, green & red. Moreover there is a reoccuring geometrical patterns both horizontal and vertical. On the exterior of the pot holding basil, on the pattern of the altar, on the marble flooring with faded white and blue geometric shapes in the background. As well as red curtains situated right and behind the altar.
The painting is inspired of the poem Isabella, or the Pot of Basil written in 1818 by John Keats. The poem tells the story of Isabella and her
star-crossed lover-Lorenzo . Keats was a romatasics poem. He grew in fame for his tragic love stories, the most famous of which is Isabella and the pot of Basil. Specifically the use of Basil in his poems. Basil in most mediterranean and italian cultures are depicted as a symbol of love and loyalty, a perfect symbol for Isabella’s misfortune. It’s also notable to mention that Hunt began painting the outline for Isabella in Florence. But soon after tragedy struck when his wife passed away after giving birth. Hunt fell into a deep depression and bagan obsessing over remembering his late life. Oftentimes spending hours sketching what he remembered of her physical attributes and creating symbols of what was their marriage. Hunt decided to immortalize his late wife through using her attributes in his painting of Isabella. He returned to England in 1867, and finished it in January 1868.This marked his beginning of utilizing a more renience style of painting adapting Italian compositions, techniques, styles and elements. These unique and harmonious elements are present throughout the painting’s composition, as it seems unbalanced with Isabellas natural anatomical precise form taking up most of the foreground and the rest of her background covered with positive space. It’s also important to note that tehre is no direct show of pattern throught the positive space except for what is hwon in the curtains, the tiles, and the outlines of the room. Creating less to focus on but Isabella. Really empahasing the subject of the painting. The painting does work successfully in focusing the subject, and thus allowing for a more clear reign of some of the more emotional aspects of the painting. Such as Isabella’s features, her expressions and emotions conveyed, her bodily language, and the variety of her looks. Primaringly how Isabella appears deep in thought. Her eyebrows are slightly drawn together but not too much as to martyr her smooth olive skin with frown lines or crows feet, her eyes are large and filled with more conveyed emotions than any part of her facial expression, her deep dark brown irises appear almost black with the lack of color and variance contrasting to her lighter skin. Bringing emphasis to the rare finds of cool colors such as the white highlights plastered against the shadows of her slightly bumped nose and high cheekbones her lips are a warm tone of red-almost pink. Appearing rosey and soft as contrasting to get defined chin that seems upturned slightly. Likewise to her lips, her rosy cheeks percent the same pattern as shown an intense contrast between the hilights, shadows and rosy red throughout her cheeks, thick neck and any other show of skin. Hunt has been sure to create great emphasis on Isabellas figure draped over the altar and her facial emotions. Specifically creating a lighter contrast of Isabellas skin to her pure white formal clothed figure. This is to draw attention to the composition of Isabellas figure, futher leading the viewers gaze back up to Isabellas emotional gaze. The subject is hilighted with unqiue attributes promiment to the context of the paiting. Moreover the clash between the two types of art styles creates unique context as well. The renaissance inspired aspects also clash with romanticism and realism. Like romanticism the medium used is a rich and bolder oil aiding the focus on dramatic manners and emotional scenes. Contrasting both romanticism and renaissance styles, Hunt also utilized realism by balancing the boldness of the colors and elements with proper atomy, geometric shapes and a calm display of emotional weakness between two lovers. An example being the colour palate of choice. At first glance it appears taht Hunt doens’t have a unique colour palette he followed, but upon further inspection you can find a variety of analogous colours in one ararea and complimentary colours in another area. It seems like HUnt ratether sections off arareas where he sues certain colour plaltetes, like using cool and shades on Isabellas figures and bold, warm colours on the altar and background. Overall there seemes to be more warm colours hinted with light toned cool coilours within the highlights of an area and on ceryian objects like the steaming pot and Isabellas herself.
Unlike the purpose, the function of the artwork is much more complex. The purpose of Hunt’s artwork was just to represent an emotional sadness
of a love poem illustrated through visual means. The function it serves gives more context to the painting, the feelings of the painter and even sheds light on the purpose. The function is to show a visual representation of two love stories One which can be visually seen and heard as Isabella and the pot of Basil, and the other on a more personal level between Hunt and Fanny. The paintings set have a narrative purpose. It illustrates the story of “Isabella and the pot of Basil”. The painting style, function and purpose contradicted that of his former paintings. That haveerotically charged subjects. His sensuous painting Il Dolce Far Niente (‘’ the sweetness of doing nothing”) being his prime example of his common motifs. This may be because he wants to personify his wife the best he could to restrict him from depicting her as something vulgar, choosing instead to cover her body with elegant material and only slightly hinting at skin below the nightgown by making it sheer but not transparent. He further honored his wife through painting her flaws as well. Unlike both romanticism and renaissance styles that focused on visually appealing scenes that disregarded human flaws in favor of showing beauty- Hunt draws marks and u turns on Isabella’s face. He sketches lines over the nook of Isabella’s chin and lowers lip, creates slight gaps in her eyebrows, emphasizes the shape of Isabella’s natural nose and is considerate with adding weight to the subject. It’s a beautiful personification of how he wanted to remember his wife. As we know he could have very well forgon many aspects of her features and looks, thus remembering and holding onto anything he could remember whether they be flaws or not was very important. He wanted to show that like all Humans his wife had flaws, butbhe rflaws her harmonized and aesthetically pleasing to an overall look. Such as even when Isabella’s facial expressions are meant to convey hurt and negative emotions, she still looks beautiful. Finally making mention of the specific use of Basil. As basil already is used to show love in Mediterranean cultures, it also holds a deeper meaning of renewal. In some Italian cultures, basil represents a new beginning thus why it’s often eaten at weddings, funerals, baptisms and of course when in mourning. Perhaps this was used to sweeten the pain of loss on Isabella’s part within Kents poem and just properly illustrated in Hunt’s painting. Either way it’s interesting to understand the depth of loss for both Isabell and Hunt that have taken personifications through Basil and Isabella’s features. “Isabella and the pot of Basil ‘’ brings deeper analysis and emotional thought. For me specifically, I value the emotions, context and background of an art piece alongside the formalist aspects of a piece. In this case, the usage of the different artistic elements and components are formally well organized and balanced. The paintings describe a good extent of harmony and creative usage of the composition, art techniques, colors, shadings and highlights. Really underlining the quality of the painting. Moreover the painting is indepth at conveying emotion. Its usage of colors and facial expressions makes the viewer connect to the art piece on a more personal level. Causing the viewer to become interested in the story or context of such a painting as the facial expressions conveyed indicate a deeper story behind was shown. Some would wonder questions like “what is the significance of the basil?”. “Why is the woman distraught”? Overall Hunt has expressed the show of Isabella in an artistic and emotional way that leaves more than what is seen to be indebted into the viewers memory. It creates a sense of emotional connection that would be deemed as the purpose of such works of art. As they are created to portray a story and meaning, and as Hunt has shown throughout this work of art creation- the viewer is able to feel emotionally invested.
Citations:
- “Art Analysis Part 3 — Cultural & Material Significance”/ Febuary 5th, 2024/ Crystal Rosbrook/ Google Classroom/ Art Analysis Continued… Part 3 Cultural & Material Context and Significance
- Art Analysis — Looking at Art: Part 2/ Febuary 1st, 2024/ Crystal Rosbrook/ Google Classroom/ Feb 1 — Art Analysis — Looking at Art: Part 2 — Google Slides
- “Isabella or the Pot of Basil.” Isabella or The Pot of Basil by John Keats. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.poetry.com/poem/23382/isabella-or-the-pot-of-basil
- “Isabella, or the Pot of Basil.” Oxford Reference. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100011944
- Khan Academy. (n.d.). William Holman Hunt, Isabella or the pot of Basil (article). Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/victorian-art-architecture/