Friday, August 28, 2009

Dante Gabriel Rossetti - The Blue Bower


1865
oil on canvas
Barber Institute, Birmingham
Rossetti's last major portrait of Fanny Cornforth, who a few years later he nicknamed 'The Good Elephant' for her ballooning size (already evident here). The wallpaper reflects his intense love of blue and white porcelain of which he had a large collection at Cheyne Walk (a love he shared with his neighbour Whistler). This painting was sold to the dealer Ernest Gambert for £210 who sold it to another dealer Agnew almost immediately for £340.

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