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Waterhouse, John William. Isabella and the Pot of Basil.
John William Waterhouse
John William Waterhouse
This painting by John William Waterhouse, titled "Isabella and the Pot of Basil," shows Lisabetta--or Isabella, as she is referred to in English interpretations--kneeling beside the pot of basil. If you study the painting, you might notice the juxtaposition between the bright and lively coloration of the painting and the gruesome premise of the story it portrays. Waterhouse uses rich greens for the basil plant and the surrounding foliage, and Lisabetta's cheeks are rosy, and her gown is brightly colored. At a quick glance, this painting does not look like one depicting death, grief, or mourning. However, there are small, subtle indications that Waterhouse includes in the painting that hint at the theme of Lisabetta's story. For example, there is a human skull sculpted onto the side of the pedestal that holds the pot of basil. This alludes to the secret that the basil plant is guarding: Lorenzo's head. There are also a few flowers intersperesed throughout the scene; they are bright red, which frequently symbolizes an impending sense of danger or a warning. This might allude to the potential threat that Lisabetta's brothers pose both to herself and to others, as they have proven violent in their murder of Lorenzo. It might also allude to Lisabetta's unfortunate fate, as those who have read or heard the story know that she dies from grief after the pot of basil--and Lorenzo's head--are taken from her.
This painting by John William Waterhouse, titled "Isabella and the Pot of Basil," shows Lisabetta--or Isabella, as she is referred to in English interpretations--kneeling beside the pot of basil. If you study the painting, you might notice the juxtaposition between the bright and lively coloration of the painting and the gruesome premise of the story it portrays. Waterhouse uses rich greens for the basil plant and the surrounding foliage, and Lisabetta's cheeks are rosy, and her gown is brightly colored. At a quick glance, this painting does not look like one depicting death, grief, or mourning. However, there are small, subtle indications that Waterhouse includes in the painting that hint at the theme of Lisabetta's story. For example, there is a human skull sculpted onto the side of the pedestal that holds the pot of basil. This alludes to the secret that the basil plant is guarding: Lorenzo's head. There are also a few flowers intersperesed throughout the scene; they are bright red, which frequently symbolizes an impending sense of danger or a warning. This might allude to the potential threat that Lisabetta's brothers pose both to herself and to others, as they have proven violent in their murder of Lorenzo. It might also allude to Lisabetta's unfortunate fate, as those who have read or heard the story know that she dies from grief after the pot of basil--and Lorenzo's head--are taken from her.
John White Alexander
John White Alexander
This painting provides an insteresting contrast to Waterhouse's depiction of Lisabetta and her pot of basil. In Alexander's version, the colors are obviously much more muted, giving the viewer a sense of Lisabetta's despair and consuming grief. Alexander also places Lisabetta in and indoor scene, as she appears to be leaning against a wall in a dimly lit room, possibly with the shades drawn behind her, thus symbolizing the intensely interior and private nature of her grief. While the pot of basil in Whitehouse's painting is rather central to the scene, as it depicts the lush and thriving plant, Alexander makes Lisabetta the focus of his painting. In fact, only the pot--which we know holds Lorenzo's head--is visible, and not the plant itself. Lisabetta's face appears gaunt and much more despairing than Whitehouse's depiction. Her skin is ghostly pale and deeply shadowed. In depicting Lisabetta in this way, Alexander shifts the focus of the story onto Lisabetta's intense personal grief.
This painting provides an insteresting contrast to Waterhouse's depiction of Lisabetta and her pot of basil. In Alexander's version, the colors are obviously much more muted, giving the viewer a sense of Lisabetta's despair and consuming grief. Alexander also places Lisabetta in and indoor scene, as she appears to be leaning against a wall in a dimly lit room, possibly with the shades drawn behind her, thus symbolizing the intensely interior and private nature of her grief. While the pot of basil in Whitehouse's painting is rather central to the scene, as it depicts the lush and thriving plant, Alexander makes Lisabetta the focus of his painting. In fact, only the pot--which we know holds Lorenzo's head--is visible, and not the plant itself. Lisabetta's face appears gaunt and much more despairing than Whitehouse's depiction. Her skin is ghostly pale and deeply shadowed. In depicting Lisabetta in this way, Alexander shifts the focus of the story onto Lisabetta's intense personal grief.
Isabella and the Pot of Basil. 1897, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
"And so she ever fed it with thin tears,
Whence thick, and green, and beautiful it grew,
So that it smelt more balmy than its peers
Of Basil-tufts in Florence; for it drew
Nurture besides, and life, from human fears,
From the fast mouldering head there shut from view:
So that the jewel, safely casketed,
Came forth, and in perfumed leafits spread"
John Keats' "Isabella; Or the Pot of Basil"
John Keats' "Isabella; Or the Pot of Basil"
In 1820, the poet John Keats published "Isabella, Or the Pot of Basil," a retelling of Boccaccio's story as a long, narrative poem. In the passage on the left, Keats describes the basil blant that grows over Lorenzo's decomposing head. Keats juxtaposes the beauty and fruitfulness of the basil plant with the image of Lorenzo's "fast mouldering head," alluding to the idea that the plant serves two purposes; to mask the gruesome decomposition taking place beneath the soil and to serve as a "casket" or tomb for Lorenzo, who would have otherwise not had a "proper" burial.
In 1820, the poet John Keats published "Isabella, Or the Pot of Basil," a retelling of Boccaccio's story as a long, narrative poem. In the passage on the left, Keats describes the basil blant that grows over Lorenzo's decomposing head. Keats juxtaposes the beauty and fruitfulness of the basil plant with the image of Lorenzo's "fast mouldering head," alluding to the idea that the plant serves two purposes; to mask the gruesome decomposition taking place beneath the soil and to serve as a "casket" or tomb for Lorenzo, who would have otherwise not had a "proper" burial.
Symphonic Poem: Frank Bridge's "Isabella"
Symphonic Poem: Frank Bridge's "Isabella"
The English composer Frank Bridge took inspiration from Boccaccio's Decameron and John Keat's poem and wrote a symphonic poem in 1907 that uses musical expression to tell the story of Lisabetta and Lorenzo. The beginning of the symphony is foreboding and quiet, which foreshadows the tragic nature of the story. The music then transitions into a romantic theme--featuring an oboe melody and a horn melody--which captures Lisabetta and Lorenzo's passionate relationship (Dibble). As Lorenzo's murder is carried out by Lisabetta's brothers, the main melody is distorted in an intense "allegro vivo," which then falls into a slow minor key, illustrating Lisabetta's "lament." . In the final section of the symphony, Bridge transitions back into a major key, as the listener is incited to imagine Lisabetta and Lorenzo reuniting in the afterlife (Dibble).
The English composer Frank Bridge took inspiration from Boccaccio's Decameron and John Keat's poem and wrote a symphonic poem in 1907 that uses musical expression to tell the story of Lisabetta and Lorenzo. The beginning of the symphony is foreboding and quiet, which foreshadows the tragic nature of the story. The music then transitions into a romantic theme--featuring an oboe melody and a horn melody--which captures Lisabetta and Lorenzo's passionate relationship (Dibble). As Lorenzo's murder is carried out by Lisabetta's brothers, the main melody is distorted in an intense "allegro vivo," which then falls into a slow minor key, illustrating Lisabetta's "lament." . In the final section of the symphony, Bridge transitions back into a major key, as the listener is incited to imagine Lisabetta and Lorenzo reuniting in the afterlife (Dibble).
The Decameron in Film
The Decameron in Film
In the 1971 film Il Decameron, the director, Pier Paolo Pasolini chose to include Lisabetta's story in the selection of tales he adapted from Boccaccio's work. In this clip, we see Lisabetta asking her brothers for permission to go outside of town with a maid. She finds her way to the place where they murdered and buried Lorenzo and she cuts off his head and wraps it in a white cloth. Once she returns home, Lisabetta's maid helps her place Lorenzo's head in a garden plot which they then cover with a basil plant. One interesting moment to note in this clip is the fact that Lisabetta places the pot of basil on a windowsill. This calls back to the Italian practice of women placing basil plants on balconies and other openly visible places so that passersby would know that there was a young woman living in the home who was ready to be married.
In the 1971 film Il Decameron, the director, Pier Paolo Pasolini chose to include Lisabetta's story in the selection of tales he adapted from Boccaccio's work. In this clip, we see Lisabetta asking her brothers for permission to go outside of town with a maid. She finds her way to the place where they murdered and buried Lorenzo and she cuts off his head and wraps it in a white cloth. Once she returns home, Lisabetta's maid helps her place Lorenzo's head in a garden plot which they then cover with a basil plant. One interesting moment to note in this clip is the fact that Lisabetta places the pot of basil on a windowsill. This calls back to the Italian practice of women placing basil plants on balconies and other openly visible places so that passersby would know that there was a young woman living in the home who was ready to be married.
In "“Regarding Lorenzo: Pasolini's Vision of Boccaccio's Lisabetta," the author, Jill Rickett, notes that in the scene above, Lisabetta is rather stoic, and that her actions "evince calm and foresight," even as she removes Lorenzo's head and places it in the pot of basil (383). This contrasts significantly with Boccaccio's Lisabetta, who is emotionally disturbed and despairing throughout the tale. Rickett also compares the sequence in which Lisabetta and her maid place Lorenzo's head in the pot of basil to Johannes Vermeer's painting, "The Milkmaid" (384). She writes that this calmly domestic visual tone of the scene highlights Pasolini's ability to "present scenes that on the surface appear to be brutal and macabre in a visual rhetoric that embraces the loving actions committed under impossible circumstances" (384). In this way, Pasolini's film takes on a much more subtle emotional intensity than the at times graphic and dramatic nature of Boccaccio's original story.
In "“Regarding Lorenzo: Pasolini's Vision of Boccaccio's Lisabetta," the author, Jill Rickett, notes that in the scene above, Lisabetta is rather stoic, and that her actions "evince calm and foresight," even as she removes Lorenzo's head and places it in the pot of basil (383). This contrasts significantly with Boccaccio's Lisabetta, who is emotionally disturbed and despairing throughout the tale. Rickett also compares the sequence in which Lisabetta and her maid place Lorenzo's head in the pot of basil to Johannes Vermeer's painting, "The Milkmaid" (384). She writes that this calmly domestic visual tone of the scene highlights Pasolini's ability to "present scenes that on the surface appear to be brutal and macabre in a visual rhetoric that embraces the loving actions committed under impossible circumstances" (384). In this way, Pasolini's film takes on a much more subtle emotional intensity than the at times graphic and dramatic nature of Boccaccio's original story.
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