Art History

Art History

The Pre-Raphaelites, Elizabeth Siddal and The Arts and Crafts Movement

07/10/15

Who was Elizabeth Siddal?:

Elizabeth Siddal was an English Artist's model, a poet, and an artist herself. She was born in 1829 and died in 1862.

How is she related to the Pre-Raphaelites?:

Lizzie Siddal was painted a lot by the Pre-Raphealite Brotherhood, most notably, she appeared in John Everett Millias' 'Ophelia'.

About Ophelia

Painted by John Everett Millias between 1851 and 1852, this was his most notable piece of artwork, Based off of Shakespears 'Hamlet', the painting gives us a visual representation of Ophelia, who drowned herself in a brook by the side of the road because her lover had killed her father. 

There is a lot of symbolism within the painting, most within the different varieties of flowers used throughout it.

Crow Flowers:
Represent ingratitude or childishness

Weeping Willow:
Represent forsaken love

Nettles:
Represent Pain

Daisies:
Represent innocence

Purple Loostrife:
'Long purples' in the play. Shakespear actually meant Orchids
Purple Orchids:
Represent Respect, dignity, and admiration

Pink rose:
Represents youth, love, and beauty

Violets:
Represent faithfulness, chastity, and death in the young

Meadowsweet:
Represents the futility of Ophelia's death

Forget-Me-Nots:
Carries the meaning in the name

Pansies:
Represent thought, and love in vain

Pheasantseye:
Represents Ophelia's sorrows

Fritillary:
Also represents Ophelia's sorrows

Poppy:
Represents Sleep, and death

How is Elizabeth Siddal related to 'Ophelia':

Ophelia was painted using Elizabeth Siddal as the model, who was asked to sit, posed in a bath so that Millias could then add in the details around her. She sat in the bath for hours, which had nothing but candles underneath, lit to keep the water warm. Eventually the water lost it's heat, yet she didn't move or even mention to Millias about the cold. Once he was done painting, she got out, and fell ill, presumably with hypothermia.

Lizzie Siddal, while taking on what we consider to be 'Traditional' English beauty for the time of the painting, was actually rather unfavorable due to her appearance. during the times that she lived, Auburn hair and green eyes (She had both) were the mark of a witch, which constituted Witch Trails or burning.

However, the Pre-Raphaelites were known for their unconventional ways, and sought her out because she was considered, by them, an enigmatic beauty.

Elizabeth Siddal and Dante Gabriel Rossetti:

Rossetti was Siddals lover throughout most of her life and married her not long before her death.

It wasn't a favorable position to be unmarried if you were getting older.

More About Elizabeth Siddal:

Lizzie Siddal was first discovered when working in a Millinery by an artist called Walter Deverell, who painted her as Viola from Shakespeare's 'Twelth Night'. Eventually she went on to modeling for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, particularly for Rossetti, who encouraged her to create her own artwork and poetry.

'The Ladies' Lament'

Her and Rossetti had an on and off engagement that lasted for over a decade. Upon her death in 1862, Rossetti buried all poems with her, and retrieved them seven years later for publication. It was said that she was still beautiful and in pristine condition, and her hair continued to grow after death and filled the coffin.

Elizabeth Siddals Death:

She died at the age of 32, and while the cause is not known, it is thought that it was either caused by an accidental overdose of Laudanum, or the taking of her own life.

Lizzie was thought to be both anorexic and suffer from anxiety, and had been taking Laudanum after the death of her still-born child.

Laudanum: An alcoholic solution containing morphine, prepared from Opium and formerly used as a narcotic painkiller.

John Everett Millais and John Ruskin:

Later in life, Millais met John Ruskin, an art patron, draughtsman, water-colourist and philanthropist. Ruskin was a huge supporter of the Pre-Raphaelites, and even continued to promote Millais after he ran off with his wife.

The Arts And Crafts Movement:

The arts and crafts movement began around the 1880's in Britain, and was one of the most profound design movements, as well as the most influential. It quickly traveled across Europe and America, and finally emerged as Mingei (Folk Crafts) in Japan.

It grew out of concern for the effects of industrialization. It advocated the reform of art at every level and across a broad social spectrum, and turned the home into a work of art.

The name of the movement came from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, which was founded in 1887.
It stood for traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often used Medieval, Romantic or Folk Styles of decoration.
It was said to be anti-industrial, and was a reaction against the perceived impoverished state of the decorative arts and how the conditions in which they were produced. The name was first used by T.J Codben-Sanderson at a meeting at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1887, but the styles of which had been developing in England for 20 years. It was influenced by such people as Augustus Pugin, (1812-1852) John Ruskin, (1819-1900) and William Morris. (1834-1896)

T.J Codben-Sanderson (1840 - 1922)

Originally, Codben-Sanderson studied law at Trinity college in Cambridge, but left without taking a degree. After a dinner with the Morrises, with whom he was good friends, Morris' wife encouraged him to begin book binding. In 1844, he opened a workshop and abandoned hos practice in law. In 1887, he suggested a new group be names the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, which is where the name for the movement came from.

His wife, however, was concerned that his ideas were to abstract, and began encouraging him to become a book-binder.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

Ruskin wasn't didn't play a major part in the Arts and Crafts Movement, however, did highly influence William Morris with his writings and social commentaries. Ruskin did call for a revival of traditional craftsmanship, however, and a return to the spiritual value of handcrafting from natural materials. 

William Morris (1834 - 1896)

Morris was an English textile designer, poet, novelist, translator and social activist, and was a big contributor the the revival of traditional British textile art and the methods of production, and his writings help play a huge part in the making of the fantasy genre. He was influenced strongly by Medievalism and developed a close friendship with the Pre-Raphaelites, including Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and the Neo-Gothic architect, Philip Webb. He created a firm with Rossetti, Webb, Burne-Jones, which profoundly influenced interior design throughout the Victorian period, manufacturing tapestries, wallpapers, fabrics, furniture and stained glass windows. It was called The Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. but later Morris assumed total control and renamed it Morris & Co.