Rossetti Drawings Part 3 - Lizzie Siddal

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. 

Rossetti Drawings Part 2 - Jane Morris

This post is dedicated to Dante Gabriel Rossetti's drawings of Jane Morris,wife of William Morris. Rossetti was obsessed with Jane and produced many works with her as the model. They also had a rather long affair... I have always found Jane to be the coldest, or rather, the most distant of Rossetti's models. However, for me, these drawings seem to offer a more expressionistic view of Jane and give quite an intimate insight into the nature of their somewhat puzzling relationship.

The Roseleaf 1870. This is a beautiful little drawing - the hair, hand and expression are lovely. The square format and Jane's pose are unusual - it shows off her profile and thoughtful expression that Rossetti was so interested in. 

 There are many drawings of Jane sitting or lying down.Because she was such an unusually tall woman she suffered from back problems, especially later in her life. 

I love this drawing - the hands are so well drawn and the dress is beautiful; very unusual and aesthetic.

A nice sketch of Jane in another lovely dress.

It was very hard to chose which drawings to put in this post. I decided to pick a range of different styles - the quick sketches show Jane in daily life,  the more stylized, posed works show her renowned beauty that so captivated Rossetti for so many years. 

Rossetti Drawings Part 1

Dante Gabriel Rossetti is perhaps my favourite Pre-Raphaelite artist. I cannot describe how much I love and admire his art. Though his paintings are the most famous of his works, I have recently discovered the wealth of beautiful drawings that Rossetti drew in the later and darker years of his life.

This is a portrait of an unidentified man 1870, the same model for Found. I love the expression and the defined features of the face. A very handsome gentleman with lovely hair.

Two lovely drawings of Fanny Cornforth. The first, from the warm colours, I think, is quite intimate and emphatic. The second is more dignified, the earring and plaited hair are beautifully detailed.

A beautiful portrait of Marie Spartali Stillman. What lovely hair she had!

 There are so many beautiful drawings, too many to put in one post. I will dedicate the next couple of posts to drawings of certain models - Jane Morris and Lizzie Siddal to come next week!