#pre-raphaelite
“elizabeth siddal having her hair combed”, a study by dante gabriel rossetti circa 1855.
“elizabeth siddal having her hair combed”, a study by dante gabriel rossetti circa 1855.
hidden details in millais’ ophelia:
- a robin perched on a branch in the upper right hand corner.
- a mist of cobweb above the sitter’s feet ominously remminiscent of a skull.
- dead reeds rotting in the water. the backdrop was in 1851 from june until november, in ewell, surrey.
- a garland of violets around the neck of ophelia, modelled by elizabeth siddal.
Post link
hidden details in millais’ ophelia:
- a robin perched on a branch in the upper right hand corner.
- a mist of cobweb above the sitter’s feet ominously remminiscent of a skull.
- dead reeds rotting in the water. the backdrop was in 1851 from june until november, in ewell, surrey.
- a garland of violets around the neck of ophelia, modelled by elizabeth siddal.
Post link
the farmer’s daughter or girl tying up mistletoe by dante gabriel rossetti (1860). the model is unknown, but it is possible that the model is elizabeth siddal: the painting was finished during the first christmas of their married life.
Post link
the farmer’s daughter or girl tying up mistletoe by dante gabriel rossetti (1860). the model is unknown, but it is possible that the model is elizabeth siddal: the painting was finished during the first christmas of their married life.
Post link
two self portraits by dante gabriel rossetti: the first dated dated october 1861, the second 1870. he was born on 12 may 1828 and is best known as both a founding member of the pre-raphaelite movement and arguably it’s definitive artist. in later life he developed a lush, sensuous painting style, characterized by medieval revivalism, elegant hands, flowing hair, and heavy allegory. he was also a prolific poet, and the husband of pre-raphaelite artist and model elizabeth siddal.
Post link
two self portraits by dante gabriel rossetti: the first dated dated october 1861, the second 1870. he was born on 12 may 1828 and is best known as both a founding member of the pre-raphaelite movement and arguably it’s definitive artist. in later life he developed a lush, sensuous painting style, characterized by medieval revivalism, elegant hands, flowing hair, and heavy allegory. he was also a prolific poet, and the husband of pre-raphaelite artist and model elizabeth siddal.
Post link
dante gabriel rossetti’s figure study for the princess for ‘the long hours go and come and go’ in the prince’s progress
Post link
dante gabriel rossetti’s figure study for the princess for ‘the long hours go and come and go’ in the prince’s progress
Post link
fanny cornforth, pre-raphaelite model and dante gabriel rossetti’s housekeeper until his death, died on 24 february 1909. she is pictured here as the sitter for rossetti’s fair rosamund (1861) and photographed in 1863. cornforth is often the subject of scholarly bias, owing in part to her status as rossetti’s longtime mistress and in part to her figure, which was fuller and more lush than the traditional sylph-like femininity typically associated with pre-raphaelite women. moreover, cornforth was working class, working as a servant from at least 1851: william michael rossetti wrote that “she had no charm of breeding, education, or intellect”. however, cornforth appeared in many of rossetti’s most famous works, including bocca baciata, and was the first person to open a dedicated museum to rossetti’s work after his death.
Post link
fanny cornforth, pre-raphaelite model and dante gabriel rossetti’s housekeeper until his death, died on 24 february 1909. she is pictured here as the sitter for rossetti’s fair rosamund (1861) and photographed in 1863. cornforth is often the subject of scholarly bias, owing in part to her status as rossetti’s longtime mistress and in part to her figure, which was fuller and more lush than the traditional sylph-like femininity typically associated with pre-raphaelite women. moreover, cornforth was working class, working as a servant from at least 1851: william michael rossetti wrote that “she had no charm of breeding, education, or intellect”. however, cornforth appeared in many of rossetti’s most famous works, including bocca baciata, and was the first person to open a dedicated museum to rossetti’s work after his death.
Post link
MWW Artwork of the Day (4/14/16)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (British, 1828-1882)
The Beloved (aka “The Bride”)(c. 1865-66)
Oil on canvas, 82.5 x 76.2 cm.
The Tate Gallery, London
The subject of this painting, the power of woman’s beauty, is inspired by the biblical Song of Solomon. The bride pulls back her veil to reveal her beauty and engages the viewer with her blue eyes and full red lips. The rich colours and exotic fabrics in which she is clothed heighten her sensuality: her intricate leather headdress is Peruvian, while her dress is made from Japanese kimono fabric.
In order to clarify the theme of the picture, originally intended to represent Dante’s Beatrice, Rossetti inscribed the frame with lines from The Song of Solomon and Psalm 45: “My beloved is mine and I am his.” (The Song of Solomon 2:16). “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.” (The Song of Solomon 1:2). “She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.” (Psalms 45:14)
The picture was commissioned in 1863 by George Rae, for £300, but was not finished until the winter of 1865-66. Rossetti also made further alterations in 1873 when he idealised the Bride’s head and left hand and the head of the attendant on the right. The model for the bride was Marie Ford, whose beauty Rossetti greatly admired. The virgin bridesmaid in the left foreground was modelled by Ellen Smith, the woman on the right by the artist Frederick Sandys’s gypsy mistress Keomi. The young black boy was intended to add a note of exoticism, but his dark face also provides an effective contrast with the pale complexion and auburn hair of the bride. Rossetti encountered the boy by chance at the door of a hotel and added him as an afterthought, replacing a mulatto girl. He may also have been inspired by the figure of the black servant in Manet’s Olympia, which he saw during a visit to Manet’s studio in November 1864.
The painting has a number of symbolic readings: the boy offers up roses, a symbol of love, but also a Christian image indicating someone who is matchless or without peer. The virgins hold lilies, normally a symbol of purity, but their red colour suggests passion and physical love. The composition is extremely shallow, and the attendants crowd around the bride, providing a rich and sumptuous setting for her jewel-like beauty.
(from the Tate catalog)
Rossetti will be one of the featured artists in the MWW exhibit/gallery:
* Back to the Future - The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (coming in 2016)
Post link
I forbid you maidens all, that wear gold in your hair, to travel to Carterhaugh, for young Tam Lin is there
Post link
