Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a Pre-Raphaelite poet and artist. Pre-Raphaelite art and literature focused on redefining Victorian womanhood, reshaping societal ideology about beautiful women. The Victorians often projected beautiful women as fallen, defiant of their rightful place as the angel of the house. In particular, Rossetti’s artworks featured redheaded female figures. In the Victorian era, redheaded women were perceived as more seductive and evil than other women, therefore less desirable. Rossetti’s women had striking features to complement their red hair, emphasizing their sexual liberty and sensuality while challenging viewers to envision the redheaded woman in familiar spaces that render them harmless. Rossetti’s interactions with the women who sat as models for his artwork often blurred the line between artist-muse partnership and romantic relationship. His regular muses included Elisabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, and Alexa Wilding. Elizabeth Siddal was Rossetti’s wife, who died tragically of a drug overdose three years into their married life. Fanny Cornforth was his model turned mistress. The only muse Rossetti never had romantic dealings with was his model, Alexa Wilding. With each different muse he depicts, Rossetti communicates a different message in response to Victorian perspectives on womanhood.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Lady Lilith, 1866-68, Oil on Canvas, Delaware Art Museum, Object number 1935-29
This oil painting is Rossetti's first complete rendering of Lilith, a figure from Jewish folklore that was said to be Adam’s first wife before Eve. Rossetti’s mistress, Fanny Cornforth, modeled for this version of Lady Lilith. In it, her red hair cascades down rather than kept back in an updo, which in Victorian days was considered a symbol of sexual liberty and sensuality. Her exposed shoulders are alluring and a vain gaze at herself in a mirror sets her apart from other depictions of the woman in the house. Her features are defined and striking in bold red surrounded by green.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Venus Verticordia (Venus, Turner of Hearts), 1864-1868, oil on canvas, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Ascension number BORGM 01897
This oil painting is Rossetti’s take on the Roman goddess of love, Venus. She is surrounded by 4 kinds of flowers. The spear and apple she holds represent the piercing of hearts and sinful lust. Her exposed breast and free-flowing red hair are indicative of her sensuality. Fanny Cornforth is also the muse for this painting. With Fanny as Rossetti’s muse, he focuses on the boldness of the femme fatale’s sexual liberty, which he plays a role in by depicting his mistress.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Henry Treffery Dunn, Lady Lilith, 1867, Watercolor and gouache, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Object number 08.162.1
This watercolor drawing is the second rendering Rossetti completed of his Lilith figure. The overall value of the drawing is dimmer, as the watercolors provide a softer range of hues than oil paint can. The woman is still a seductively dressed, pale redhead with her hair down, staring at herself in a mirror, but this Lilith appears more innocent because of her softer features and less vibrant hues. Rossetti’s muse for this version of Lady Lilith was Alexa Wilding, his young model.
In this painting, we see the return of the redheaded female with an alluring gaze. This time the woman is fully clothed in dark green and playing a harp while staring directly at her audience, the viewers of the painting. This woman is an artist, demanding the viewer’s respect by making eye contact as she plays her harp. The other two redheaded, angelic women are not looking at the viewers or central woman directly, but the implied lines created by the tilt of their heads in her direction draws the focus toward her. The model for this painting was Alexa Wilding.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sibylla Palmifera (Soul’s Beauty), 1865-70, Oil on canvas, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Object number LL 3628
This oil painting is a companion piece to Lady Lilith (1867), depicting a pensive redheaded woman who gazes into the distance. There is unity created by the various shades of red in this depiction of a Lilith-like woman, with her gown being completely red, the flowers, her lips, and hair. Rossetti includes green accents, like her scarf, eyes, and leaves. She holds a palm scepter, which symbolizes chastity. With Alexa Wilding as his muse, Rossetti softens the seductive redhead into a young woman in spaces society is familiar with.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Beata Beatrix, 1864-70, Oil on Canvas, Tate Britain Gallery, Object number N01279
In this oil painting, Rossetti’s redheaded woman is a rendition of Dante Algehri’s character Beatrice from his medieval story, Inferno. The muse for this painting was Rossetti’s wife, Elizabeth Siddal. Rossetti experienced the untimely death of his beloved wife, his real life Beatrice, so completing this painting served as an expression of his grief. He includes the same red and green hues as his other paintings, but this time she is depicted darker, without the youthful light the other paintings had. This redheaded woman is devoid of the radiant, seductive beauty as a bird brings her an omen of death. She is still beautiful, even as she is dying.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Regina Cordium (Queen of Hearts), 1860, oil on canvas, The Leicester Galleries
Rossetti completed this oil painting for his wife, whom he affectionately called Lizzie, his queen of hearts. Once again, Rossetti incorporates the red and green colors in his depiction of a beautiful woman, but this time it is different. Rossetti gives Lizzie the green skin to reflect the medical condition she is dying of. She holds a single pansy as a symbol of death. With Elizabeth Siddal as his muse, Rossetti depicts the redheaded woman as an object of desire rather than scorn, but also as a regular person that experiences sickness like other women.
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