Friday 28 August 2015

Rossetti - On the BBC


 Andrew Graham-Dixon's documentary  Rossetti- Sex , Drugs and Oil Paint (2003) is  still available from the BBC archives ( at time of writing)  http://bbc.in/KqoglB





Elizabeth Siddal
Examining Rossetti's art, relationships and psychological traits, it considers his view of female beauty . Known for a pre-occupation with a pretty face  and  a flaming head of hair, Rossetti's art after 1860 became virtually solely devoted to representations of a  single female face.

The documentary shows how Rossetti's love life and its complications provided the background for his changing interpretation of female beauty; early  maidenly depictions - personified by his wife Elizabeth Siddal- transforming to  more sensuous portrayals of later loves such as Fanny Cornforth and Jane Morris.

http://bbc.in/KqoglB



Bocca Baciata ( model Fanny Cornforth )
Prosperine (  model Jane Morris)