Elizabeth Siddal is a famous English model, artist and poet. She had a great influence on the artists of the Pre-Raphaelites, her image can be seen on almost all portraits of Dante Rosseti, often posed for William Hunt, Walter Deverell, John Mill. The most famous picture in which it can be seen is the painting of Ophelia by John Millet.
Biography
Elizabeth Siddal was born in 1829. She was born in London in a large family of a worker who came from Sheffield. Elizabeth Siddal's date of birth is July 25th.
From early childhood, she began to work: helping her mother in tailoring cheap dresses.
At 18, she entered a hat shop in the Covent Garden area of the British capital. It was here that her fateful meeting with the artist Walter Howell Deverell took place.
Meeting with the painter
The career of the model went to Elizabeth Siddal in 1849, when Deverell saw her in the hat store. He was greatly shocked by her outstanding and non-standard appearance, unusual beauty. The painter immediately went to her mother, after much persuasion, persuaded to let Elizabeth pose for him.
For the first time, Elizabeth Siddal (photo you will find in this article) became the model when working on Deverell's most famous painting, Twelfth Night. It was written based on the works of Shakespeare.
Deverell finished work on it in 1850, and four years later he died at the age of 26.
Muse of the Pre-Raphaelites
Elizabeth Siddal (photos of the famous model were not preserved, but the paintings with her images are presented in this article) has become a real muse for the Pre-Raphaelites. The red-haired and pale Elizabeth personified in her way the type of woman of the quattrocento, that is, the period corresponding to the early Renaissance.
For members of the Pre-Raphaelite fraternity, Elizabeth Siddal has become a real muse. Many of them in their work refused academic conventions in search of new images. The appearance of Siddal helped many in creating their masterpieces.
The Pre-Raphaelite artists themselves claimed that they wanted to open a “new breath” in their work. They deliberately refused angelic faces with delicate facial features, reminded and overly pampered ladies. They were simply mesmerized by the image of the British model Elizabeth Siddal, it became for many a source of inspiration, an important discovery in their work.
The image of Ophelia
The most famous painting depicting Siddal is the painting of Ophelia by John Millet, completed in 1852. Today it is exhibited at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the UK.
According to the plot of Shakespeare's tragedy, Ophelia was Hamlet's lover. Upon learning that he had killed Polonius, her father, she went nuts and drowned in the river. Millet's painting reproduces the scene described by the mother of the title character, in which the death of Ophelia appears as an accident.
In his work, Ophelia is depicted immediately after falling into the river. She is half immersed in water, her gaze is fixed on the sky, and her open arms evoke associations with the crucifixion of Christ. Interestingly, many contemporaries interpreted the canvas as erotic. The girl slowly plunges into the water, surrounded by flowering and vibrant nature, while neither despair nor panic is displayed on her face. The viewer understands that the death of the heroine is inevitable, but at the same time he has the feeling that the time around is as if frozen. The main merit, noted by Millet's fans, was that he managed to capture the moment that separates life from death.
The artist painted the image of Ophelia herself in her studio after finishing work on the landscape. This, by the way, was extremely unusual and non-standard for that time. The fact is that landscapes were considered less important than figures of people, therefore, as a rule, they were left for later.
Dress for Ophelia Millet bought for 4 pounds. In his memoirs, he wrote that he had acquired a luxurious old women's outfit decorated with floral embroidery.
The 19-year-old model, Millet Elizabeth Siddal, whose biography is described in this material, lay in a filled bathtub for several hours. Since it was winter outside the window, the bath was heated with the help of lamps, but the girl still caught a cold and became seriously ill. Presumably, this was due to the fact that the lamps went out at some point, and nobody noticed this. Her father even threatened the painter that he would sue him if he did not pay for the treatment. As a result, the artist billed the doctor 50 pounds.
Doctors prescribed Laudanum to the girl. This is an opium tincture for alcohol, which was actively used in medicine at that time. In English, in the Victorian era, it was considered a universal remedy, both as a sedative and as a sleeping pill. It is believed that the drug used for medicinal purposes, finally undermined the already weak healthy Elizabeth.
The film became very popular among critics and spectators, brought glory to the heroine of our article. Then everyone found out that Elizabeth is not only a model, but also draws and writes poetry herself.
Dante Rossetti
In 1852, 23-year-old Elizabeth Siddal (you will find a biography with photos in this article) met with artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti in Mille's workshop . Almost immediately, they fell in love and began to live together in a separate apartment on Chatham Place. Since then, Elizabeth has been a constant model of the artist, her image can be found in almost all of his early portraits.
It is believed that the passionate love for Elizabeth inspired the painter to create such masterpieces as "Dante's Love", "Paolo and Francesca da Rimini". At that time, he actively embodied the themes of love of Dante and Beatrice in his paintings.
Poetry and graphics
Rossetti in every possible way encouraged her literary work, as well as graphics classes that fascinated the girl. At the same time, Siddal's poems did not have any success, but her artwork eventually became very popular. The influential English artist John Ruskin even awarded Elizabeth a scholarship so that she continued to create without worrying about anything.
As a result, Siddal became the only woman to take part in the pre-Raphaelite exhibition held in Russell Place in 1857. The following year, her work was exhibited in America at a major exhibition of British art. In 1859, together with Bern-Jones, Morris and Rossetti, she designed the house of the Morris couple, who became known as the Red House.
Personal life
Moreover, in a personal relationship with Dante, everything was not cloudless. To create a happy family with Elizabeth Siddal did not work. Mostly this was due to the fact that Rossetti, even despite the love and passion for the heroine of our article, could not stop having relationships with other women. Among them were very famous persons, for example, model Annie Miller, who was a friend of Holman Hunt, his other model, Fanny Kornfort, who was considered his mistress for many years.
Rossetti's relationship with Cornfort was no secret to anyone at all. After the death of Elizabeth, she even moved to the artist, remaining with him until his death.
Biographers claim that Rossetti could not do anything with himself, continued to change Elizabeth, constantly experiencing the torment of conscience. Seeing the constant betrayal of a loved one, the heroine of our article fell into depression, which only exacerbated her painful condition.
Disease
By the beginning of 1860, Siddal's health had noticeably worsened. She became seriously ill, only then Dante promised to marry her as soon as she gets better and she will recover. Their wedding really took place on May 23 of the same year.
In May 1861, Elizabeth had a dead child, after which she fell into a prolonged depression. Relations with Dante increasingly based on quarrels and scandals, she began to have seizures of insanity, clouding of reason.
On February 11, 1862, Elizabeth died of an overdose of Laudanum. This drug, which she took since she caught a cold, posing for Millet. Obviously, the “medicine” based on opium undermined her poor health, and also caused an addiction that she could not cope with. At that time, Siddal was only 32 years old.
Biographers are still arguing about what caused the overdose of a dangerous drug. Was it a suicide or a fatal mistake made in a state of unconsciousness?
Memory of elizabeth
Rossetti was overthrown by the death of his wife. This news shocked him to the core. All the remaining years, he suffered greatly, blamed himself for not being able to build a happy life with his lover and muse. Because of this, he often became depressed, he was tormented by remorse, and nightmares tormented him. The artist was addicted to alcohol and drugs, in which he found temporary and deceptive comfort.
In memory of his wife from 1864 to 1870, he painted a picture known as Beata Beatri, which means "Blessed Beatrice." On it, he portrayed Elizabeth in the image of Beatrice from the collection of Dante Alighieri's "New Life".
His last painting on Dante's theme, "Dante's Dream," which was completed in 1871, is also associated with the death of his wife.
At the funeral of his wife, the dejected Rossetti put the manuscripts of his poems in her coffin, taking an oath to leave poetry forever. After a few years, he still decided to publish a selection of his youthful poetic works. To get them, the grave of Elizabeth at the Highget cemetery had to be opened. The book was published in 1870. This act then shocked many friends and acquaintances of the artist.
"Blessed Beatrice"
The painting "Blessed Beatrice", which depicts Siddal, is painted using oil painting technique. This is her monument, as the artist himself conceived his creation. Beatrice is pictured at the time of death, with Rossetti himself associating himself with Dante, mourning the loss.
Now the work is in the London Tate Gallery. It is imbued with symbolism. On her palm is a bird, which is considered the messenger of death, and in her beak is a poppy flower, which hints at the death of Elizabeth from an overdose of opium.