This morning I shared on the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood Facebook page Edward Poynter’s portrait of Georgiana Burne-Jones, wife of Sir Edward Burne-Jones who was an important figure in the second wave of Pre-Raphaelitism. In ‘The Last Pre-Raphaelite’ biographer Fiona MacCarthy describes the watch Georgie’s wearing on a chain as a “ball-shaped gold watch studded with chrysolites bought for her by Burne-Jones…
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A Mother’s Exile
Georgiana Burne-Jones, wife of artist Edward Burne-Jones, was a devoted wife and mother. Her love for her husband and children is obvious when reading any account of the Burne-Jones family. Despite her joy at becoming a mother, Georgie poignantly described a sense of exile once she was no longer in the studio with her husband due to caring for…
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Burne-Jones on Portraiture
I am guilty of often overlooking Burne-Jones’ portrait work in favor of his narrative paintings. However, this morning I read a passage in which his wife discusses the artist’s opinions of the use of expression in his portraits: Another portrait painted this year, that of Miss Fitzgerald, a young American girl. The art of portraiture he [Burne-Jones] considered very seriously…
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Exploring Rossetti’s Home
“I was ushered into one of the prettiest and most curiously furnished old-fashioned parlours that I had ever seen. Mirrors and looking-glasses of all shapes, sizes and design lined the walls. Whichever way I looked I saw myself gazing at myself.”–Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his circle (Cheyne walk life), Henry Treffry Dunn. Henry Treffry Dunn, who was at…
- Alexa Wilding, Annie Miller, Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Georgiana Burne-Jones, Jane Burden Morris, mary zambaco
What is the “Pre-Raphaelite Woman”?
Women are central figures in Pre-Raphaelite art and this has given us the concept of a “Pre-Raphaelite Woman”. I frequently see the term ‘Pre-Raphaelite’ in occasional news articles, usually describing an actress or singer with long curly hair. Florence Welch is often described as Pre-Raphaelite and it’s definitely a look she has embraced. But was there a unified ideal? If we…
