Pre-Raphealite observations

I've finished both my Pre-Raphaelite jigsaws, both by Rossetti. 

I was struck by how white, almost alabaster-like his skin tones were.  Much as I appreciate redheads usually do have pale skin, this seemed too white. My own skin is paler than most redheads & blondes but not this white. Even allowing for the fact it was fashionable at the time for ladies, or aspiring to be ladies, of quality, to cover up, to avoid tans, this is unnaturally pale.

As for that hair, so red & golden. My step-brother once recalled my hair as being something like that colour when I was just a child. It was also very long, way below my waist. I think his description of the colour is a bit of an exaggeration. My memory of the colour was much browner, more the colour of a ripe horse chestnut. There was definitely a red gingery element, which in the right light did shine out, but generally it was the brown that was more noticeable. These days it's grey, rapidly becoming silver. It's been more that colour than anything else for the last 20 years if not longer.

The other things that struck me was the vividness of the red of lips & cheeks. Clearly lipstick & rouge of some sort must of been used if this is anything like an accurate representation of the model. I never really thick of make-up being used that much in Victorian times, except by harlots. But then, I suppose, when I think of Elizabeth I, she, too painted her lips & reddened her cheeks & that was long before the 19th century.

Hands, too, seemed very much a feature. They were very carefully drawn & yet the position of the fingers looked very unnatural, very demanding, quite painful, for a model to maintain for any length of time.

Other features which struck me included an urge to capture something of the texture & richness of  fabrics, the way the clothes fell. The backgrounds were also lavish, no plain colour wash here. Instead we have heavily patterned wallpapers, William Morris inspired, I suspect.

It's been interesting. I look forward to doing these jigsaws again to discover new depths & further insights.