Elizabeth Siddal - Tumblr Posts

For those who don't know (to be fair I haven't said this thing before...) I love redheads. Red hair in general is very beautiful to me, and the fact that is very rare makes it much more special. Back in Ancient Greece people considered it to be either a symbol of beauty or a sign that those people would become vampires after they die. In Ancient Egypt it was a symbol of luck. In the Medieval Ages redheads were believed to be witches. Later, red hair was associated with seductiveness and sex-appeal. Cleopatra, Vincent van Gogh and Queen Elizabeth I were all redheads.

So naturally, every time I see a painting featuring a redhead I like it. And after so much time I've finally found the woman behind many famous paintings: Elizabeth Siddal.

She was an english painter, art model and poet. She was the most renowned model at that time, and most of the artists' ideas of beauty and aesthetic were highly influenced by her looks. She was married with the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and she soon became his muse. Many paintings featuring famous female figures such as Lilith, Beatrix, Persephone, Joan of Arc, Aphrodite, Ophelia and Fiammetta had her as the main inspiration for their appearance.

And now you might be asking: "But didn’t she die in 1862 and most of these paintings were made by the time when she was already six feet under the dirt?" Well yes, but even years after her death when Rossetti used other models he still included features from his dead wife (especially her beautiful red hair) and used sketches of her for reference as well.

All changes pass me like a dream, I neither sing nor pray; And thou art like the poisonous tree That stole my life away.

 — Elizabeth Siddal  (via adsumartem)