Elizabeth Siddal: biography with photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Elizabeth Siddal is a famous English model, artist and poet. She had a huge influence on the Pre-Raphaelite artists, her image can be seen in almost all the portraits of Dante Rosseti, she often posed for William Hunt, W alter Deverell, John Mill. The most famous painting in which she can be seen is John Millet's Ophelia.

Biography

Elizabeth Siddal was born in 1829. She was born in London in a large working-class family who came from Sheffield. Elizabeth Siddal's date of birth is July 25.

From early childhood, she began to work: she helped her mother in sewing cheap dresses.

At the age of 18, she entered a hat shop in the Covent Garden area of the British capital. It was here that her fateful meeting with artist W alter Howell Deverell took place.

Meeting the painter

The career of the model began for Elizabeth Siddal in 1849, when he saw her in a hat shopDeverell. He was greatly shocked by her outstanding and non-standard appearance, unusual beauty. The painter immediately went to her mother, after much persuasion persuaded her to let Elizabeth pose for him.

For the first time, Elizabeth Siddal (photo you will find in this article) became a model while working on Deverell's most famous painting "Twelfth Night". It was written based on the works of Shakespeare.

Deverell completed work on it in 1850, and died four years later at the age of 26.

Muse of the Pre-Raphaelites

Elizabeth Siddal (the photo of the famous model has not been preserved, but the paintings with her images are presented in this article) became a real muse for the Pre-Raphaelites. Red-haired and pale, Elizabeth personified in her image the type of woman of the Quattrocento, that is, the period corresponding to the early Renaissance.

For members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, Elizabeth Siddal has become a real muse. Many of them in their work abandoned academic conventions in search of new images. The appearance of Siddal helped many in the creation of 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 features, pomaded and overly pampered ladies. They were simply fascinated by the image of the British model Elizabeth Siddal, she became a source of inspiration for many, an important discovery in their work.

Image of Ophelia

The mosta famous painting depicting Siddal is John Millais' Ophelia, completed in 1852. Today it is exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in the UK.

According to the plot of Shakespeare's tragedy, Ophelia was Hamlet's lover. When she learned that he had killed Polonius, her father, she went mad and drowned herself in the river. Millet's painting reproduces the scene described by the title character's mother, in which Ophelia's death appears as an accident.

In his work, Ophelia is depicted immediately after falling into the river. She is half submerged in water, her eyes are fixed on the sky, and her open hands evoke associations with the crucifixion of Christ. Interestingly, many contemporaries interpreted the canvas as erotic. The girl slowly sinks into the water, surrounded by blooming 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 gets the feeling that time around seems to have stopped. 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 his 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 human figures, so, as a rule, they were left for later.

Dress for Ophelia Millet bought for 4 pounds. In his memoirs, he wrote that he bought a luxurious old women's outfit, decorated with floral embroidery.

19 year old modelMille Elizabeth Siddal, whose biography is described in this material, lay in a filled bath for several hours. Since it was winter outside, the bath was heated with lamps, but the girl still caught a cold and became seriously ill. Presumably, this happened due to the fact that the lamps went out at some point, and no one 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 for £50.

Doctors prescribed Laudanum to the girl. This is an opium tincture for alcohol, which was actively used in medicine at that time. Among the British 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, completely undermined the already weak he althy Elizabeth.

The picture became very popular with critics and viewers, brought fame to the heroine of our article. Then everyone learned 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 a photo in this article) met the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti in Millet's workshop. Almost immediately they fell in love and began to live together in a separate apartment on Chatham Place. Since then, Elisabeth has been the artist's permanent model, her image can be found in almost all of his early portraits.

It is believed that the passionate love for Elizabeth inspired the painter tothe creation of such masterpieces as "The Love of Dante", "Paolo and Francesca da Rimini". At that time, he actively embodied in his paintings the love stories of Dante and Beatrice.

Poetry and graphics

Rossetti strongly encouraged her literary work, as well as graphics, which fascinated the girl. At the same time, Siddal's poems did not have any success, but her artwork eventually became very popular. Influential English artist John Ruskin even gave Elizabeth a scholarship to continue creating without worrying about anything.

As a result, Siddal became the only woman to participate in the Pre-Raphaelite Exhibition held in 1857 at Russell Place. The following year, her work was exhibited in America at a major exhibition of British art. In 1859, with Burne-Jones, Morris and Rossetti, she designed the home of the Morris couple, which became known as the Red House.

Private life

At the same time, in personal relations with Dante, everything was not cloudless. Elizabeth Siddal did not succeed in starting a happy family. This was mainly due to the fact that Rossetti, despite the love and passion for the heroine of our article, could not stop starting relationships with other women. Among them were very famous persons, for example, the model Annie Miller, who was Holman Hunt's girlfriend, his other model Fanny Cornforth, who was considered his mistress for many years.

Rossetti's relationship with Cornforth was no secret at all. After Elizabeth's death, she even moved in with the artist, staying with him until his death.

Biographers claim that Rossetti could not help himself, continued to change Elizabeth, while constantly experiencing pangs of conscience. Seeing the constant betrayal of her beloved, the heroine of our article fell into depression, which only aggravated her painful condition.

Disease

By early 1860, Siddal's he alth had deteriorated markedly. She became seriously ill, only then Dante promised to marry her as soon as she felt better and recovered. Their wedding really took place on May 23 of the same year.

In May 1861, Elizabeth gave birth to a dead child, after which she fell into a prolonged depression. Relations with Dante were increasingly based on quarrels and scandals, she began to have fits of insanity, clouding her mind.

February 11, 1862, Elizabeth died of an overdose of Laudanum. It's the drug she's been taking since she caught a bad cold while posing for Milla. Apparently, the opium-based "medicine" undermined her poor he alth, and even 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 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 stronglysuffered, blamed himself for not being able to build a happy life with his beloved and muse. Because of this, he often fell into depression, he was tormented by remorse, and at night he was tormented by nightmares. The artist became addicted to alcohol and drugs, in which he found temporary and deceptive solace.

In memory of his wife, from 1864 to 1870 he painted a painting 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".

The death of his wife is connected with his last Dante-themed painting "Dante's Dream", which was completed in 1871.

At his wife's funeral, the dejected Rossetti put the manuscripts of his poems in her coffin, swearing an oath to leave poetry forever. A few years later, he nevertheless decided to publish a selection of his youthful poetic works. To get them, Elizabeth's grave in Highgate 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 picture "Blessed Beatrice", which depicts Siddal, is written in the technique of oil painting. This is her monument, as the artist himself conceived his creation. In the painting, Beatrice is depicted at the moment of death, while Rossetti himself associated himself with Dante, mourning the loss.

Now the work is in London's Tate Gallery. It is imbued with symbolism. In her palm is a bird, which is considered the messenger of death, and in her beak a flowerpoppy, hinting at Elizabeth's death from an opium overdose.