“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
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
After the previous posts about repeated use of objects in Pre-Raphaelite art (Rossetti and His Baubles and Hair Adornment in Rossetti Paintings), I have taken to scouring images for props used repeatedly. One of which is this silver ornament or pillar I’ve seen in both The Bridesmaid and Mariana by Sir John Everett Millais: In … Read more
After the previous post about the hair pin (also see this post at The Beautiful Necessity) I spent today collecting images of recurring jewelry in Rossetti paintings. So far I have: Rossetti adorned her hair with a lovely white rose and a piece of jewelry that has always looked like an earring (to my modern … Read more
I love to search the paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti because he adds so many details and symbolism. It’s hard not to notice this beautiful spiral-shaped hair clip that seems to have migrated from one canvas to another: A Christmas Carol: The Bower Meadow: Mariana: Grace at The Beautiful Neccessity also has a post about … Read more