Margaret Hannay, sugarplum of the universe

Margaret Thompson Hannay, drawn by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Margaret Thompson Hannay, drawn by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Scottish author James Hannay once described his wife Margaret as the ‘sugarplum of the universe’.   Dante Gabriel Rossetti captured the sugarplum’s beauty in the sketch above, drawn a few weeks before the couple wed.

Margaret also appears as Beatrice in the original watercolor Dante’s Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice (1856).  In the later oil painting, Rossetti replaced Margaret with Jane Morris.

'Dante's Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice': Margaret Hannay appears as Beatrice on her deathbed.  Models Annie Miller and Miss Lazenby are Beatrice's attendants. Dante is clad in black and red, the figure of 'Love' kisses Beatrice.
‘Dante’s Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice’: Margaret Hannay appears as Beatrice on her deathbed. Models Annie Miller and Miss Lazenby are her attendants. Dante is clad in black and red, the figure of ‘Love’ kisses Beatrice. Jane Morris appears as Beatrice in the oil reproduction of this work.

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