#victorian poetry

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

two versions of elizabeth siddal. her self portrait, completed in between 1853 and 1854, is one of her only serious undertakings in oil to have survived to the present. her gaze is direct, her mouth tight- a portrait which bears the painter’s own understanding of their appearance. this is in contrast to the watercolour by her husband, dante gabriel rossetti, also painted around 1854, which shows a more genteel version of siddal with downcast eyes and delicately folded hands. 

one of the only surviving photographs of elizabeth siddal, circa 1860.

study for the head of ophelia by john everett millais (1852), alongside the completed version. the model is elizabeth siddal, aged twenty. during her sitting for ophelia, the oil lamps which heated the bathtub in which siddal was floating for the piece went out; the water went cold- millais’ studio was in a basement, and it was the winter of 1851/1852- but siddal did not disturb the artist. she eventually contracted pneumonia, but recovered and became an artist in her own right. it is unsubstantiated whether the health issues that shaped much of her life were directly related to the ophelia incident.

study for paulo and francesca by dante gabriel rossetti

“the sleeper”, inspired by edgar allan poe’s eponymous poem, by dante gabriel rossetti (1846-1847)

study for the angel of the holy grail by dante gabriel rossetti, 1857 

previews of the pre-raphaelite sisterhood exhibit catalogue, by jan marsh and peter funnell. featuring the work of elizabeth siddal, christina rossetti, evelyn de morgan, fanny eaton, and other women from the pre-raphaelite movement, the exhibition runs at the national portrait gallery until 26 january 2020. you can purchase the catalogue here.

we have merchandise! purchase your very own pre-raphaelist tshirt on redbubble, featuring a transparent elizabeth siddal as drawn by dante gabriel rossetti in 1852.

dante gabriel rossetti’s woodcut for the frontsipiece from the 1862 first edition of “goblin market and other poems” by christina rossetti

Bookplate etching by William Bell Scott for Poems Dramatic and Lyrical, by John Byrne Warren, published in 1893.  The artwork was designed and engraved by Scott as a gift to the author.

“The maid-of-honor blooming fair:

The page has caught her hand in his:

Her lips are sever’d, as to speak:

His own are pouted to a kiss:

The blush is fix’d upon her cheek.”

Wood engraving by an unknown artist for Lord Alfred Tennyson’s book, The Day Dream, published in 1886 by E. P. Dutton & Co.