#pre-raphaelite art

[garlandedspirits]

Various versions of Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, created between 1874 and 1882

[the-most-sublime-fool]

Elizabeth Siddal & Jane Morris

Pre-Raphaelite models as artists in their own right

Photographs of Elizabeth Siddal (left) and Jane Morris (right)

Elizabeth Siddal and Jane Morris are mostly known as artists' models for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, representing the ideal of feminine beauty for the movement.

Elizabeth Siddal famously modelled for John Everett Millais's Ophelia (1852)

Jane Morris in paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Proserpine (1874) + The Daydream (1880)

But both women were also artists themselves.

Elizabeth Siddal

In the paintings and drawings she modelled for, Siddal is never depicted as looking directly at the viewer. Instead, she is languid and lovely, gazing off dreamily into the distance or closing her eyes, like in the examples below.

Elizabeth Siddal in paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Regina Cordium (1860) + Beata Beatrix (1870)

Her self-portrait, however, presents a fascinating contrast.

Elizabeth Siddal's self-portrait (1854)

Her expression is stony and her gaze is direct. She knows you're looking, and she's looking right back. It reminds me of the Agnès Varda quote,

“The first feminist gesture is to say: OK, they're looking at me. But I'm looking at them.”

Here are some more of Siddal's own paintings below.

Her style is distinct and striking.

Lady Clare (1857), The Quest of the Holy Grail (1855), Clerk Saunders (1857), Holy Family (1856)

Jane Morris

Jane Morris was not a painter herself, but an embroiderer, bookbinder, and calligrapher.

She came from a working-class background and only received an artistic education as an adult, after she married William Morris.

Unfortunately, not much of her work survives, or can be definitively attributed to her, but the two floral patterns below reveal her skill with the needle.

[heaveninawildflower]

The Lapse of the Year - Spring, 1900.

After Edward Burne-Jones (d.1898).

Published by Berlin Photographic Company.

Birmingham Museums Trust, licensed under CC0.

[itsagallery]

Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Roman Widow. 1874. Oil on canvas.

[gingersnaptaff]

Forgot to post this but I went to the Manchester Art Gallery in May last year and saw these two paintings in person:

Like forgive me for my terrible, terrible camera work (and the fact I forgot to post them until now) but AHHHHH!!!!!!

[floracreativa]

Ophelia - John Everett Millais

1851-1852

Ophelia depicts a scene from the William Shakespeare play, Hamlet (ca 1599-1601). Painted by a founding member of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood in the mid 19th century, this is a painting often used as an example of Pre-Raphaelite art as it utilities it's classic traits—extreme attention to detail, vibrant colors, use of flowers for symbolism, and they often painted biblical scenes or medieval stories in a realistic manner.

Millais uses the Victorian language of flowers to fill this painting to the brim with important symbolism— among the flowers floating alongside Ophelia are red poppies, symbolizing deep slumber and loss. The purple and yellow pansies on her dress were often gifted during the Victorian era to mean 'thinking of you', used romantically and platonically. Blue forget-me-nots are along the edge of the water, meaning exactly what they are named. In the original play and in the painting, purple violets are used to symbolize new beginnings, fragility, and death happening to the youth. The weeping willow that hangs above Ophelia's floating body symbolizes childishness and ingratitude. The nettles growing in the foreground symbolize pain. The white daisies mean innocence and purity, usually used for young women.

[mysticalblizzardcolor]

Sir Frederic Leighton

Sir Frederic Leighton (1830-1896).

Title: "Flaming June."

Date: 1895.

Genre: allegory.

Medium: oil on canvas.

Dimensions: length 120 cm (47.2 in); height 119.1 cm (46.8 in); width 119.1 cm (46.8 in).

Collection: Museo de Arte de Ponce.

Location: Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States.

Description: "Flaming June" is a prime example of how the ideals of Pre-Raphaelite painting merged with other more Academic ideals as the 19th century came to an end. Loosely inspired by the work of Michelangelo in the modeling of the body, Leighton nevertheless articulates a vibrancy of color and authenticity that is undeniably Pre-Raphaelite in nature.

[palominojacoby]

George R. Chapman, The Golden Witch, 1867