Above video: The Real Ophelia - Tate website. To get a taste of who The Rossettis were watch the video.
Elizabeth Siddal is known as the model posing in Millais's painting of Ophelia. But there is much more to learn about this story. Here we explore her life as an artist and poet, her influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the challenges she faced living within Victorian society.
You can also see all of the surviving paintings, major drawings and watercolours by Elizabeth Siddal for the first time in The Rossettis exhibition at Tate Britain, 6 April – 24 September 2023
Artist and Muse, ElizabethSiddal, Rossetti's wife, photograph 1861
A major exhibition devoted to the radical Rossetti generation
This exhibition follows the Rossetti generation, through and beyond the Pre-Raphaelite years: Dante Gabriel, Christina and Elizabeth (née Siddal). Visitors will get to experience world-renowned works from their boundary-pushing careers.
The Rossettis’ approach to art, love and lifestyles are considered revolutionary, and this will be thoroughly explored in an immersive show, using spoken poetry, paintings and more. This is the first retrospective of Dante Gabriel Rossetti at Tate and the largest exhibition of his iconic pictures in two decades.
It will also be the first time that all the surviving paintings, major drawings and watercolours by Elizabeth Siddal will be shown to the public. It will take a fresh look at the fascinating myths surrounding the unconventional relationships between Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth and Jane and William Morris.
Tate Britain For more exhbition information.
