Mikayla's blog entry1

            Time and time again over the course of the semester, I have noticed the lush, voluminous hair that rests on the heads of women depicted in Pre-Raphaelite paintings. This hair, depicted true-to-nature, is seemingly untamed and untouched. Consider the figure in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Lady Lilith of 1866 who is drawing attention to her hair as she brushes it or John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott of 1888 in which a woman in a boat has her hair blown by the wind. Both women model hairstyles that are long, thick, and wavy. The color of their hair is natural and has not been dyed with artificial colors. This hairstyle was popular in the late nineteenth century paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites and it persists in contemporary culture. Diving into the depths of the inter webs, I found links like “How to Look like a Pre-Raphaelite Maiden: 6 Steps” and endless pictures on Pinterest boards of what Internet users have deemed as “Pre-Raphaelite Hair.” The more I looked, the more references I found to support the popularity of the Pre-Raphaelite look. One has to question why such a fascination with the hairstyle of the Pre-Raphaelite women exists. Arguably, there is an attraction and appreciation for the simplicity of their appearances. When an individual is presented in their pure state — not dolled up with makeup and excessive, over the top hairstyles — they look most like themselves. This natural look meets Pre-Raphaelite idea and therefore such hairstyle is always adopted in Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Further, women of Pre-Raphaelite paintings have unique looks due to the fact that no standardization is practiced in hairstyle, makeup, and dress. I find that when women of the contemporary world present themselves in a Pre-Raphaelite style, they are drawing from this past tradition of a more true-to-nature appearance. So the next time you are contemplating what hairstyle you should sport on your night out on the town, consider the organic Pre-Raphaelite glamour exemplified in the paintings of the nineteenth century.