When Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti spotted Alexa Wilding on a busy street, he immediately approached her to sit for him. A tall, pretty girl, she feared impropriety and didn’t show up at the agreed time. Never one to admit defeat, Rossetti visited her and her mother to set their fears at rest. From then … Read more
Medusa was once a beautiful maiden who was transformed by the goddess Athena into a Gorgon. Of all three Gorgons, Medusa alone was mortal. Her hair was a mass of writhing serpents and a glimpse of her face would turn you to stone. Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae, avoided Medusa’s deadly gaze by viewing … Read more
“The girl is in a sort of passionate reverie, and is drawing her hand listlessly along the strings of a violin which hangs against the wall, while she holds the bow with the other hands, as if arrested by the thought of the moment, when she was about to play. In color, I shall make … Read more
Iconic Pre-Raphaelite paintings like Millias’ Ophelia, Rossetti’s Proserpine, or practically any Lady of Shalott garner a lot of attention and rightly so. Of course, there are also Pre-Raphaelite works that might not capture your eye right away when you see them in books or online, but in person they captivate you so unexpectedly and completely … Read more
Truth to nature was one of the main tenets of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and an excellent example of this can be seen in the Death’s Head moth in William Holman Hunt’s painting The Hireling Shepherd (above). I’ve blogged about it many times before; it’s part of my Shakespeare post that I share yearly on the … Read more
Like his Pre-Raphaelite brethren, Dante Gabriel Rossetti used live models in his works. Throughout the course of his career, the same faces grace his canvasses, ranging from family members to lovers. Occasionally, models Elizabeth Siddal and Alexa Wilding are confused for each other. Other models may be misidentified completely, so this post is intended to … Read more
La Ghirlandata was painted at Kelmscott Manor after a period of great difficulty for Rossetti — he had attempted suicide earlier that year. Despite his paranoia and mental troubles, his work during this period is vibrant and beautiful. This painting,in particular, is appealing to me with its stunning contrast of glorious red hair and verdant … Read more
“The girl is in a sort of passionate reverie, and is drawing her hand listlessly along the strings of a violin which hangs against the wall, while she holds the bow with the other hands, as if arrested by the thought of the moment, when she was about to play. In color, I shall make … Read more
In Rossetti’s 1853 drawing Boatmen and Siren, one of the boatmen is captivated by the siren, but is saved from certain death by his companion. The accompanying inscription was written by Jacopo da Lentino, a Italian poet of the Rennaissance era whose work was translated by Rossetti in The Early Italian Poets: I am broken, … Read more
Women are central figures in Pre-Raphaelite art, and this has given rise to the concept of a “Pre-Raphaelite Woman.” I frequently see the term in the media, usually describing an actress or singer with long curly hair. Florence Welch is often described as Pre-Raphaelite, a look she has embraced. But was there a unified ideal? If we look … Read more
“To start with I was nothing, but then the merest sweep of his pencil gave a hint of what I could become.” –A Curl of Copper and Pearl I’ve spent almost my entire adult life pursuing the Pre-Raphaelites, but never have I felt so immersed in their world as I did while reading this book. … Read more
The Poem: Drawing inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s The Blessed Damozel explores the theme of lovers separated by death. Like Poe’s Lenore, the damozel (an archaic form of damsel) has died and Rossetti introduces her to us as she looks down upon her lover from heaven. Rossetti later told Hall … Read more
In 1859, Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted Bocca Baciata and it was a radical change for him in style. Afterwards, his work gravitated towards images of a single female, quite often depicted from the bust up and surrounded by flowers, jewelry, and other symbolic objects. Why the change? In the late 1850’s Rossetti had definitely matured … Read more
Rossetti frequently used Alexa Wilding as a model. Tall and voluptuous, she appears in some of his most beautiful works. She is The Blessed Damozel, although she is frequently misidentified in that painting as Elizabeth Siddal. In Monna Vanna, Rossetti has cast Alexa in the role of a vain beauty. Her large-sleeved, opulent gown is … Read more
I’ve mentioned my love of mirror paintings before: Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus, Viola, Photograph of Fanny Cornforth, Seeking out mirrors, and Preparing for the Ball. It’s understandable if we fail to notice the mirror in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Lady Lilith (previous post about the painting here). Our eyes are naturally drawn to Lilith, … Read more
The Bower Meadow, painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1872. Featured in the foreground are Maria Spartali Stillman (left) and Alexa Wilding(right). I’m not sure about the women in the background. Musical instruments, such as the ones seen here, seem to figure prominently in many of Rossetti’s works Veronica Veronese, The Sea-Spell, La Ghirlandata to … Read more