Elizabeth Siddal has become the symbol of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and their ideals of beauty. She was engaged to and finally married Dante Gabriel Rossetti. During their relationship, Rossetti made thousands of drawings of Lizzie; some preliminary sketches for paintings, others just observations during daily life. These drawings are both beautiful and sorrowful, for many of these were drawn when Lizzie was in a state of severe depression - she and Rossetti had a stillborn child in 1861 and she was addicted to laudanum, the substance which was to take her life in 1862.
This is a watercolour sketch of Lizzie painting. She was not just an artists model; under the tuition of Rossetti and the patronage of John Ruskin, Lizzie pursued her love of painting, drawing and poetry.
These are three of my favourite portraits of Lizzie, for Rossetti has captured her expression perfectly.
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