Released Images of Queen Victoria's home life

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2548005/Revealed-Queen-Victorias-secret-passion-photography.html

The Pump House & Church

In a back street in Farnham Surrey, there is an old Victorian pump house which has been preserved. Where the door used to be is now a little shrine to show the objects used to pump water to the village. The cottage itself, where the pump house was situated, is 17th Century, so it was used during the Victorian Era. 

 

As you can see in the image above, on the left is the pump used to get water, a replica of a Victorian dolly and the board used to clean the clothes on. Obviously the Victorians didn't have access to running water like we do today, therefore the whole village would've had to use the pump. This setting would have been quite eerie, as opposite is a churchyard. 

 

 

As you can see the church has Victorian Gothic aspect to it. The intricate detailing on the windows was a usual element in Victorian Architecture. Also, the angel on the side would've been present on Gothic Victorian buildings. Normally they would've been more gargoyles but here they have been replaced by angels. I like how they have kept the pump house and maintained the details of the church, when it would be so easy to modernize them and to forget about the towns history.

Preserving the Victoria

 

Victoria's Garden Entrance

 

Looking for inspiration for all things Victorian I came across a garden in Farnham on the grounds of old swimming baths put there to commemorate the 60th year of Queen Victoria's reign. Now the baths have gone, a garden has been placed there to celebrate the centenary of the opening of the baths.

Chosen Image - Decay Pinterest

I decided to choose this image to signify decaying because the look is polished and perfected, it's more laid back and a little bit messy. This combination said decay to me.

Chosen Image - Cruel Pinterest

In this image there is more than one aspect that makes the image cruel. The backcombing of the hair creates a barrier at the front giving off this powerful persona. When teamed with the full eyebrow and icy glare there is a feeling that this girl is cruel, not to be messed with.

Chosen Image - Romantic Pinterest

What makes this image romantic? I thought that the wisps of hair around the face softened her face creating this romantic persona. The element of the hair piece also adds to this persona. I like how the hair piece is also made from pearls and other jewels; showing purity.

Pinterest Boards

Romantic - www.pinterest.com/naomihalfacre/romantic

Cruel - www.pinterest.com/naomihalfacre/cruel

Decaying - www.pinterest.com/naomihalfacre/decay

Gothic Element 5 - Spying

Victorian Architecture, Roger Dixon & Stefan Muthesius, Published by World of Art, page 183, Chapter 6, Churches

 

Spying 

The first thoughts from this image was one of spying. I got this idea as the picture was taken in a church, where god looks down on you, maybe even spying. 

Gothic Element 4 - Fantasizing, Dreaming & Reveries

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Astarte Syriaca 1877, Available to view: www.tate.org.uk

Fantasizing, Dreaming & Reveries 

The painting above is taken from an exhibition at the Tate Gallery. As soon as I saw the image I thought of dreams and reveries. The two ladies at the back of the painting have that dreaming pose, as they are looking towards the sky they may be dreaming or fantasizing about their god. The lady at the front is more of a strong persona, maybe the leader of the dreaming ladies. 
 

Gothic Element 3 - Foreshadowing, Weather & Nature

Woman in Black, 2012, James Watkins

Foreshadowing, Weather & Nature  

The screenshot above was taken from the 2012 film version of the Women In Black featuring Daniel Radcliffe. I thought that the film very much reminded me of the marshes in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Both have the marshes, the old decaying mansion and the lady that 'haunts' the rooms. Obviously the marshes are a very hostile place and definitely show the weather and nature that is a key element in both the film and the Dickens novel. The hostile landscape mirrors the hostile Miss Havisham. Therefore I think that nature can be the inspiration for a character. This will be something to remember when creating looks for the final assessment, as using the nature to create a persona seems quite interesting.
 
 

Gothic Element 2 - Unrequited Love

Robert Brough, Oil on canvas, Fantaisie En Folie, 1897. Available to view: www.tate.org.uk

Unrequited Love 

I believe that the painting here signifies unrequited love because of the longing pose used. It seems as if the subject is lost in thought, a trait that comes with unrequited love. Translated, 'Fantaisie En Folie' means fantasy in madness. The painting has a religious element to it with the lady holding out her necklace to the buddha figurine on the left. During the Victorian era, the British began to receive information and ideas about Buddhism. Therefore, the painting may have been created to show the madness of a new religion in a christian era. 
 

Gothic Element 1 - Gloomy Tone and Mood

Victorian Architecture, Roger Dixon and Stefan Muthesius, Published by World of Art, page 117.

Gloomy Tone and Mood 

I thought that this image represented Gloomy tone and mood because of the detailing of the structure and the darkness of the overall image. I thought that the architecture showed the Gothic element. The intricate detailing of the iron bars inspires me to create a make-up look based on these details. The curves of the bars could be interpreted into eye liner to create as much detailing around the eye area. 
 

First Impressions - Great Expectations

My first impressions of Great Expectations was that the novel is very complex and hard to read. However, I thought the linking of the plots and characters was quite clever and made you think about the story. The whole plot was at first hard to understand and follow because the novel, I thought, was so much longer then it needed to be. Dickens took away from the plot creating other plots which made the whole thing confusing. Even though I have studied the novel before I still found it hard to read, although I managed to finish the whole novel. Now that I have finished the novel, I am going to look through Spark Notes to help me fully understand the themes and symbolism within. These notes will help me to get a clear understanding of the Victorian era and of the Gothic/Terror theme that runs throughout. 

Whilst I was at school we studied the novel, in order to understand the novel more we watched the original film version. Obviously, adaptations are sometimes very different from the novel as it needs to be condensed down into a version that can be easily watched. This happened in the original version and many other versions. As the novel gets older and more people try and attempt to recreate it, I think they lose the originality of the book because they are trying to make it contemporary for today's audience. Obviously, effects, make up, film and television sets have progressed and also look more modern, therefore it makes it very hard to make the film more like the novel. The adaptation that sees Gillian Anderson play Miss Havisham is one that surprised me. The portrayal of Miss Havisham looked too polished. Her hair was pretty much perfect when she was supposed to be a total mess? Her clothes were still white, when the book states that the colour had faded to a yellow? And her make-up was far too perfect when this character was supposed to be this total haggard mess. I was very much surprised when I saw how Miss Havisham had been interpreted because it was very much different from the image that I had in my mind. Maybe they tried to make Miss Havisham more modern and thought that a white face would portray the effect that no sunlight would create on the skin. I think that they could have portrayed the character better by creating a different make up look; one that isn't so obviously product! 

My favourite character within the film is Estella. It was interesting to see how she had been raised to have this cold heart, very much created for revenge on the male gender by Miss Havisham. Furthermore, the character of Estella gave an insight into the Victorian society hierarchy; showing that someone of her standing could not marry below her; i.e Pip. It was interesting to see how all of the characters linked together and to see that Estella was adopted from two convicts and raised by Miss Havisham; ultimately meaning that Estella was the same as Pip; orphaned, but then was raised with money. Much like Pip comes to be.

 Overall, I have enjoyed the novel, even though it is hard to read and to understand; but with the help of Spark Notes I think that I shall be able to understand more the meanings of themes and symbolism. I am definitely looking forward to creating looks from this era based on Gothic and Terror!

Level 4 Make Up in Motion - Great Expectations