Artwork Title: Elizabeth Siddal

Elizabeth Siddal, 1855

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Of the many drawings Rossetti made of Elizabeth Siddall this is undoubtedly my favorite, and it was a treat to finally see it in person; its small size, smaller even than a postcard, surprised me. To scrutinize it under the lens of the Rossetti-Siddall romantic biography is almost to distract from its power as a solo, full-face, head-and-shoulders portrait of a woman — though undoubtedly Rossetti’s affection for her is manifested in the drawing’s sense of intimacy and its tender delineation of Siddall’s downcast eyes and pursed lips. The exhibition catalogue makes the interesting observation, easy to forget, that the portrait was probably drawn by gaslight, and also that Rossetti scratched away some of the ink to achieve the effects of light and shadow. [https://dantisamor.wordpress.com/category/museums/]
Uploaded on Jan 11, 2018 by Suzan Hamer

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