Drawing of PRE-RAPHAELITE Artist Dante Rossetti Painting JANE MORRIS Proserpine!

Description: Graphite drawing on paper measures approx. 11 x 7 1/8 inches. It’s a study / sketch for or of “Proserpine” (one of the eight or so versions) by leading Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti (British, 1828-1882). The sitter / model depicted is Jane Burden Morris (Mrs. William Morris).“In her elegant pale hands she holds a pomegranate fruit, her consumption of its seeds condemning her to stay for half of each year with her abductor Pluto, who had promised to return her to her mother Demeter, only if she had not eaten in his realm. Her face conveys the melancholy of her incarceration, but is also defiant and powerful; as the Queen of the Underworld she is the ultimate ruler of mankind all of whom must eventually stand before her throne”. ~Sotheby’s“The chronology and provenance of the various versions of Proserpine has always frustrated and intrigued Rossetti scholars and the mysteries may never be fully resolved”. ~Sotheby’sJane Morris was an English embroiderer in the Arts and Crafts Movement and artists' model who embodied the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty. She was a model and muse to her husband William Morris and to Dante Gabriel Rossetti. William Morris was a designer and the main influence on the Arts and Crafts Movement.Unframed drawing currently stored in an old toploader style Mylar sleeve because I couldn’t risk having the wind blow the drawing around while I was photographing it outside. Forgive the scratches, glare, reflections, etc. (all on the Mylar), in my photos. Drawing ships carefully packed, flat not rolled.This is one of two drawings I have of Jane Morris. Both have wormholes or some sort of deterioration, yellowing/browning discoloration, etc. Neither drawing has any writing on it. The woman I acquired the drawings from told me that she purchased them from an estate (sale or auction) in the Wilmington, Delaware area.The lady was really interested in art but didn’t really know anything about it. Anyone who is knowledgeable about art will at least generally recognize what we’re looking at here. They might not know off the top of their head that this drawing is of Jane Morris as the ancient Roman goddess Proserpine or that the other one is of Mrs. Morris as well. But, they do know Pre-Raphaelite style art when they see it.In 2013, a Rosetti drawing in colored chalks of Proserpine fetched over five million dollars at a Sotheby’s auction in London. See quotes above from their catalog essay on that picture. At the time, BBC News online wrote: “Proserpine, depicting the empress of the underworld, is a defining image of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement”.Since 99% of people can’t afford to be buying drawings for five million (!), other artworks pop up from time to time that have the look for less. For example, Christie’s sold a version of Rossetti’s 17 x 17” pastel drawing “Mariana” for ten thousand British pounds. They classified it as being by a ‘follower of’ Rossetti. Another example was a colored chalks drawing sold as ‘studio of’ Rossetti which fetched 27K+ British pounds.I haven’t shown the Jane Morris drawings I have to anyone, so I have no idea if an auction might say they’re ‘follower of’, ‘studio of’, or what. I don’t see how any label they’d put on them could be bad. I haven’t sold anything through the auction houses for over 15 years. They can be great, although the fees can be pretty steep.I’m making an effort to list more and more art on eBay at the 295 and under price point. There are nice things out there for any budget… check out my other listings! I’d hate to be just written off by people because I also offer artworks such as this (to quote the BBC) “DEFINING IMAGE OF THE PRE-RAPHAELITE ART MOVEMENT”. CHECK MY FEEDBACK AND BUY WITH CONFIDENCE! *** 20+ years of happy customers on eBay *** Please see my other eBay listings for more great items.Message me to arrange for combined shipping on multiple purchases.

Price: 8000 USD

Location: Pitman, New Jersey

End Time: 2023-08-15T16:24:45.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD