#victorian art

beatrice (1879) and the salutation of beatrice (1869), painted by dante gabriel rossetti. jane morris is the model for both portraits.

io sono in pace by dante gabriel rossetti (1875) / paulo e francesica da rimini (1867) by dante gabriel rosseti

dante’s vision of matilda gathering flowers by dante gabriel rossetti, circa 1855.

paolo e francesca by giovanni costetti, 1902.

pre-raphaelite muse, model, and artisan jane morris was born 19 october 1839

the vampire by philip burne-jones (1897). the model is actress mrs patrick campbell; burne jones was the oldest son of pre-raphaelite painter edward burne-jones.

ophelia by alexander cabanel; ophelia by friedrich wilhelm theodor heyser; ophelia by jean baptiste bertrand; detail from ophelia by john everett millais

detail from the last sleep of arthur in avalon by edward burne-jones (1881-1898) // the sleeping beauty by john collier (1921)

“symphony in white, no. 1: the white girl” by j.a.m. whistler (1861-62) // “a somnambulist” by john everett millais (1871)

three studies of fanny eaton, a Black jamaican-born pre-raphaelite muse, by walter fryer stalks (first image) and frederick sandys (images two and three). she sat for numerous artists of the movement, including dg rossetti and simeon solomon, and is perhaps best known for being the sitter for sandys’ morgan le fay.

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.

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. 

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.

dante gabriel rossetti’s figure study for the princess for ‘the long hours go and come and go’ in the prince’s progress

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.

The Office Romance, 1843

(Source: The Illuminated Magazine, 1843)

Illustration from Christina Rosetti’s Goblin Market.

Child to Crone - ‘The Life and age of woman: stages of woman’s life from the cradle to the grave’ by James Baillie, c.1848, New York.