__NOTOC__ ''Mnemosyne'', also titled ''Lamp of Memory'' and ''Ricordanza'', is an oil painting by

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

begun in 1875 or early 1876 and completed in 1881.

Jane Morris Jane Morris (née Burden; 19 October 1839 – 26 January 1914) 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 ...

was the model, and

Frederick Richards Leyland Frederick Richards Leyland (30 September 1831 – 4 January 1892) was one of the largest British shipowners, running 25 steamships in the transatlantic trade. He was also a major art collector, who commissioned works from several of the Pre-Rap ...

bought the painting in 1881 and displayed it in his drawing room with five other Rossetti "stunners."''Waking Dreams'', p.206. At about the same time Rossetti, a founder of the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

, was painting ''Astarte Syriaca'', a larger painting completed in 1877 with Morris in a very similar pose.

Painting

''Mnemosyne'' began as an oil study for ''Astarte Syriaca'', for which Jane Morris sat over the winter of 1875–1876,Marsh (1987), p. 130 but Rossetti later worked it up as an image of

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine chil ...

, the Greek personification of Memory. Rossetti wrote to his mother about the two paintings on 29 April 1876: A month later Rossetti was considering ordering a frame for the painting and selling it to Clarence Fry. Fry declined and in July 1876 Leyland advanced Rossetti 300 pounds for the painting, although he was concerned that the painting was too large for his drawing room. Rossetti did further work on the painting in 1879 and adjusted the frame in 1880, before delivering it to Leyland in 1881. It was one of Rossetti's last completed canvases. Inscribed on the picture's frame is:

Provenance and exhibitions

File:FRLeylandsdrawingroom1892.jpg, 320px, Six Rossetti paintings as hung in Leyland's drawing room, 1892. ''Mnemosyne'' hangs second from the left. (Click on any painting for its article.) poly 80 200 25 200 25 280 80 280

Monna Rosa ''Monna Rosa'' is the title of two oil paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, both portraits of Frances Leyland, the wife of shipping magnate Frederick Richards Leyland, a regular patron of Rossetti. The earlier and smaller painting was completed ...

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The Blessed Damozel "The Blessed Damozel" is perhaps the best known poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as well as the title of his painting (and its replica) illustrating the subject. The poem was first published in 1850 in the Pre-Raphaelite journal '' The Germ''. Ro ...

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Proserpine (Rossetti painting) ''Proserpine'' (also ''Proserpina'') is an oil painting on canvas by English artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, painted in 1874 and now in Tate Britain. Rossetti began work on the painting in 1871 and painted at least eight separate versio ...

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Veronica Veronese ''Veronica Veronese'' is an oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted in 1872 with Alexa Wilding as the model. The painting was conceived as a companion to ''Lady Lilith.'' Rossetti sold the painting to one of his best clients, shipping mag ...

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Lady Lilith ''Lady Lilith'' is an oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti first painted in 1866–1868 using his mistress Fanny Cornforth as the model, then altered in 1872–73 to show the face of Alexa Wilding. The subject is Lilith, who was, according to ...

desc none Frederick Richards Leyland bought the painting from Rossetti in 1881. It hung in Leyland's drawing room with five other Rossetti paintings that Leyland called "stunners."''Waking Dreams'', p. 26 (figure 5). The painting was sold at Leyland's estate sale, held at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

on 28 May 1892 to William Connal McLean and changed hands in two gallery sales in 1908. It was purchased in 1916 by the estate of

Samuel Bancroft Samuel Bancroft (January 21, 1840 – April 22, 1915) was an American industrialist as well as a major collector of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artwork. His appreciation for art and his desire to give back to the community led to his becoming a p ...

who had acquired one of the largest collections of Pre-Raphaelite art outside of the United Kingdom. The Bancroft estate donated its extensive collection of paintings in 1935 to the

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artis ...

. The painting was exhibited in London in 1883,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1893, and London in 1906. It has also been exhibited in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

(1976) and

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

(1982)

References

Sources

* * {{Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Paintings in the Delaware Art Museum Paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Paintings of Greek goddesses

Painting

Provenance and exhibitions

See also

References

Sources