Originally published at Gibberings. You can comment here or there.
Dante Gabriel Rosetti, “Beata Beatrix”
Some fun facts about this painting:
1. The model is Lizzie Siddal, the same girl who posed for John Edward Millais’ famous painting of Ophelia.
2. Siddal was Rosetti’s longtime something-or-other before they finally got married. The nature of their relationship is a topic of scholarly debate. It is assumed that they did not have a sexual relationship, as Rosetti already had his Whores and probably preferred that Siddal remain his Madonna. She also did not get pregnant prior to her marriage, although I find it hard to believe that anyone living in civilization, even in the faux innocence of the Victorian age, did not know rudimentary methods of foiling conception.
3. Most importantly, Siddal was a talented artist in her own right. She is academically considered to be Rosetti’s copycat. In truth, they worked together on numerous compositions for which he alone received credit.
4. After a lifetime of struggling to be recognized as an artist and illustrator, and constantly being turned away from jobs, education, and exhibitions due to her unfortunate sex, she was prescribed and became addicted to laudanum (a liquid opiate tincture popular during the era of “hysterics”).
5. Rosetti finally married her, after waffling about it for years, when it seemed she was on the verge of death. She miscarried once, then overdosed sometime later. Whether it was a suicide or an accident is now impossible to discover. Suicides were routinely obfuscated to assure the deceased of a resting place in holy ground, and though there were rumors of a note, it would certainly have been destroyed.
6. This painting, depicting her moment of overdose, was done after she had already died. The strange anatomy and junked-out facial expression are testament to this. The red dove holding the poppy flower is a direct reference to the peace brought about by opium. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was big on crap like that.
Tags: artwork, not my artwork, paintings
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