Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882) - 1873c. The Garland (La Ghirlandata)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 and was later to be the main inspiration for second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement. He was also a major precursor of the Aesthetic movement. Rossetti's art was characterised by its sensuality and its medieval revivalism. His early poetry was influenced by Keats. Rossetti's personal life was closely linked to his work, especially his relationships with his models and muses Elizabeth Siddal and Jane Morris.
Rossetti painted this picture while he was staying at Kelmscott Manor, the house he part-owned with his friend William Morris, following his breakdown and suicide attempt in 1872. Morris stayed away, but his wife Jane - with whom Rossetti was in love - was there. The honeysuckle and roses around the top of the harp in this picture indicate sexual attraction, while the harp itself represents music - a common metaphor for love and lovemaking. However the model for the picture was not Jane Morris but a model, Alexa Wilding. The angel heads at the top were painted from Jane’s ten-year-old daughter. "The Garland" (La Ghirlandata) is one of several paintings of women playing musical instruments which Rossetti painted between 1871 and 1874. His intense use of color creates a brooding, melancholy mood, while the picture’s symbolism may reflect his emotional condition at this time.
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882) - 1873c. The Garland (La Ghirlandata)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 and was later to be the main inspiration for second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement. He was also a major precursor of the Aesthetic movement. Rossetti's art was characterised by its sensuality and its medieval revivalism. His early poetry was influenced by Keats. Rossetti's personal life was closely linked to his work, especially his relationships with his models and muses Elizabeth Siddal and Jane Morris.
Rossetti painted this picture while he was staying at Kelmscott Manor, the house he part-owned with his friend William Morris, following his breakdown and suicide attempt in 1872. Morris stayed away, but his wife Jane - with whom Rossetti was in love - was there. The honeysuckle and roses around the top of the harp in this picture indicate sexual attraction, while the harp itself represents music - a common metaphor for love and lovemaking. However the model for the picture was not Jane Morris but a model, Alexa Wilding. The angel heads at the top were painted from Jane’s ten-year-old daughter. "The Garland" (La Ghirlandata) is one of several paintings of women playing musical instruments which Rossetti painted between 1871 and 1874. His intense use of color creates a brooding, melancholy mood, while the picture’s symbolism may reflect his emotional condition at this time.