I’ve seen Pre-Raphaelite paintings of women dismissed as ‘languid’ or ‘vapid’ and many critics view them as sensual images created solely for the male gaze. That’s a fair argument, of course, but I feel it’s a point of view that barely scratches the surface. To me, Pre-Raphaelite women are not shallow objects of beauty, but women focused more on their…
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Kirsty Stonell Walker on Fanny Cornforth
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Pre-Raphaelite model Fanny Cornforth. She held an important place in the life of artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, yet she has long been derided and dismissed because of her dubious background. Her final years were a mystery until biographer Kirsty Stonell Walker shed light on them. To honor Fanny today, I am so…
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Marigolds, Sacred Flowers for the Dead
Our Halloween revelry is over and now we honor our ancestors with the Day of the Dead. Throughout Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., this is Dia de los Muertos, a special event that focuses on togetherness of family and friends and honoring those who have passed on. It is a beautiful way to honor the importance of family and it…
- Books, Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Jane Burden Morris, Julia Margaret Cameron, Pre-Raphaelite Subjects and Themes, Shakespeare, Tennyson, William Allingham, William Morris
The Diaries of William Allingham
If you’re interested in studying the Victorian era seriously, then diaries and letters are important. At times I feel like a 21st-century snoop, devouring personal journals and private correspondence whenever I get the chance. Through contemporary accounts, the past may not always come alive but it shines through the mist more clearly. The diaries of Irish poet William Allingham are…
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Help #RememberFanny
In 1858, artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti met Fanny Cornforth and she was unlike any model he had ever used. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that after meeting Fanny, his work developed a new and startling style. There is no denying that it is her face that appears in the first work that ushered in a radical new style for him,…
