Peacock & Vine: On William Morris and Mariano Fortuny

This ravishing book opens a window into the lives, designs, and passions of Mariano Fortuny and William Morris, two remarkable artists who themselves are passions of the writer A. S. Byatt. <br><br>Born a generation apart in the mid-1800s, Fortuny and Morris were seeming opposites: Fortuny a Spanish aristocrat thrilled by the sun-baked cultures of Crete and Knossos; Morris a member of the British bourgeoisie, enthralled by Nordic myths. Through their revolutionary inventions and textiles, both men inspired a new variety of art that is as striking today as when it was first conceived. In this elegant meditation, Byatt traces their genius right to the source.<br><br>Fortuny's Palazzo Pesaro Orfei in Venice is a warren of dark spaces imbued with the rich hues of Asia. In his attic workshop, Fortuny created intricate designs from glowing silks and velvets; in the palazzo he found &quot;happiness in a glittering cavern&quot; alongside the French model who became his wife and collaborator, including on the famous &quot;Delphos&quot; dress - a flowing, pleated gown that evoked the era of classical Greece. <br><br> Morris's Red House outside London, with its Gothic turrets and secret gardens, helped inspire his stunning floral and geometric patterns; it likewise represented a coming together of life and art. But it was a &quot;sweet simple old place&quot; called Kelmscott Manor in the countryside that he loved best - even when it became the setting for his wife's love affair with the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.<br><br>Generously illustrated with the artists' beautiful designs - pomegranates and acanthus, peacock and vine - among other aspects of their worlds, this marvel-filled book brings the visions and ideas of Fortuny and Morris to vivid life.