The bower meadow

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

1850-1872

Height:

86.3 cm  (34 in.)

Width:

68.0 cm  (26 3/4 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

Description

Romantic and imaginative composition, set within a park landscape, with two half-length female figures seated in the foreground playing musical instruments as two women behind them dance to their music. The left foreground figure modelled for by Marie Spartali Stillman is seated in three-quarter view to the right with her head turned in profile; she wears a loose, deep pink-coloured medieval-style garment with a fine, almost transparent white fabric twisted around the neck; her dark hair is twisted and coiled at the back of her head with a pearl spiral hair ornament fastened behind the ear. The positioning of the right foreground figure modelled for by Alexa Wilding – echoes that of the left figure, appearing symmetrically balanced; her head is in three-quarter view to the left with auburn hair partially gathered at the back of her head, the rest trailing down her back; she wears a loose green robe similar to that of the left figure, with a stylised autumn leaf on the shoulder. Both figures appear dreamy and self-absorbed, playing their psaltery (left) and a small partially visible lute/cittern or mandolin-like plucked string instrument (right). Seen between the heads of the foreground figures with a stone balustrade behind them are the pair of barefoot dancing figures. They have an arm wrapped around each other's waist, their other hands clasped and held up in the air. The head of the left figure faces the viewer. She wears a green dress with patterned red sleeves, her red hair trailing behind her; the right figure, wearing a pink dress over a loose-sleeved undergarment, has her head turned away from the viewer, her dark hair plaited and coiled around the back of her head. To the right of the dancing figures is a dovecote with a red tiled roof. A spray of pink roses can be seen in the front right corner. In the background is a landscape of rolling pasture, through which a fifth female figure walks carrying a basket over her shoulder. The pasture is bordered by dense woodland.

Iconclass

43C921
two women dancing as a couple
48CC75
making music; musician with instrument - CC - out of doors

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Psaltery [3677]
Stringed instruments [3101] (Small plucked instrument)

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 2

RIdIM record id

5546

Data provider