Camille Ralphs publishes poem responding to Ella Walker's 'The Romance of the Rose' paintings

Camille Ralphs has written a new poem titled 'The Romance of the Risen' in response to Ella Walker's 2024 painting series 'The Romance of the Rose'. The poem appears in ArtReview's monthly poetry feature, which commissions original works inspired by contemporary art. Walker's paintings depict female characters from various historical periods placed in theatrical settings that exist outside conventional timeframes. Her series reinterprets the thirteenth-century French poem 'Le Roman de la Rose' by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, transforming its original narrative about a young man's quest to seduce a virgin. Instead, Walker presents women liberated from patriarchal constraints. Ralphs serves as poetry editor at the TLS (Times Literary Supplement) and recently published her collection 'After You Were, I Am' with Faber in 2024. Her poem engages with Walker's visual exploration of feminine agency through vivid imagery of dreams, transformation, and botanical symbolism. The publication continues ArtReview's ongoing series that connects contemporary poetry with visual art practices.