Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End

art, a Gesamtkunstwerk, a complete artistic environment. But Morris loathed Wagner’s operas, felt that they trivialized the great legends on which they were based—he hated opera in general—while Fortuny was a great admirer. Both men believed in the close connection between labor and art, that pleasure in labor was essential to produce significant art. The so-called “lesser arts” were as important as paintings and sculptures in terms of their artistic accomplishments and centrality to life. In her discussion of these two splendid figures we are forcefully reminded of the richness of their achievements. This is a highly personal disquisition, almost meditation, on two designers and artists of genius (although Morris hated that term). One is grateful for A. S. Byatt’s intelligent pairing of William Morris and Mariano Fortuny.