Lady Lilith

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

1864-1868 (circa)

Physical Description

Medium: oil
Dimensions: 37 1/2 x 32 in.

Production Description

Production Date: 1864-1868 (circa)
Exhibition History: Royal Academy, 1867
Patron: Frederick Leyland
Model: Fanny Cornforth

Provenance

Current Location: Delaware Art Museum (repainted version)
Archival History: F.R. Leyland; purchased by Samuel Bancroft at the Leyland sale, Christies, May 28, 1892 (no. 56); given by Bancroft to the Delaware Art Museum

Scholarly Commentary

Introduction

This is the picture as DGR originally executed it, with Fanny Cornforth as the model. It was painted in 1864, but in 1872-1873 DGR substituted the face of Alexa Wilding for that of Fanny Cornforth. Almost no one has been happy with the change.

The watercolor replica in the Metropolitan Museum, in which Cornforth is the model, gives some better idea of what this painting must have looked like. Marillier supplies a black and white reproduction from a contemporary photograph. Stephens' description of the painting refers to this original oil work.

Production History

The painting was commissioned by Frederick Leyland in 1866 but not finished until 1868 (or perhaps even 1869).

Reception

The critical remarks by Swinburne and Stephens testify to the power of this picture in its original state.

Bibliography

Lady Lilith
Description: See Stephens, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 68-69.
Subject: Worldly Beauty
Copyright: ©Delaware Art Museum, Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Collection

Reproductions

  1. image

    Delaware Art Museum, Bancroft collection print.
  2. image

    Delaware Art Museum, Bancroft collection print.
  3. image

    Marillier, DGR: An Illustrated Memorial , 132.
  4. image

    Gowans and Gray, Masterpieces of DGR , 30.
Electronic Archive Edition: 1
File Name: sa14.s205.rap.xml