Elizabeth Siddall

Sir John Everett Millais’s Ophelia has become one of the world’s most renowned paintings; a reminder of the fragility of life. Much like Ophelia, the woman in Millais’s famed work met her own devastating end.

Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Elizabeth Siddall, a 19th century English artist, poet, model, and the heart and soul of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood.

This Episode is produced by Kula Production Company.

Listen to ArtMuse’s episode on Elizabeth Siddall:

REFERENCES

Hawksley, Lucinda. Lizzie Siddal: The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel. Andre Deutsch, 2017.

Marsh, Jan. Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. Quartet Books Limited, 2019.

Millington, Ruth. “Elizabeth Siddall: Ophelia Awakes.” Muse: Uncovering the Hidden Figures behind Art History's Masterpieces, Pegasus Books, New York, 2022.

Pollock, Griselda. “The Representation of Elizabeth Siddall.” Vision and Difference: Femininity, Feminism, and Histories of Art ; with a New Introduction by the Author, Routledge, London, 2007.

Siddall, Elizabeth, and Serena Trowbridge. My Ladys Soul: The Poems of Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall. Victorian Secrets Limited, 2018.

IMAGES

Sir John Everett Milais, Ophelia, oil on canvas, 1851-1852

John James Chalon, A Millinery Shop in Paris, drawing on paper, 1822.

Walter Deverell, Twelfth Night, oil on canvas, 1850.

William Holman Hunt, Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus, oil on canvas, 1851. Elizabeth Siddall pictured center.

Gabriel Dante Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal Seated at an Easel, ink on paper, 1852.

Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 1853-1854.

Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, Lady Affixing Pennant to a Knight’s Spear, watercolor on paper, 1856.

Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, Clerk Saunders, watercolor on paper, 1857. Exhibited at 1857 retrospective and purchased by an American collector.

Elizabeth Eleanor Siddall, Lady Clare, watercolor on paper, 1857.

Gabriel Dante Rossetti, Regina Cordium, oil on panel, 1860. Marriage portrait of Elizabeth Siddall.

Gabriel Dante Rossetti, Beata Beatrix, oil on canvas, 1864-1870.