Maria Zambaco (29 April 1843, London – 14 July 1914, Paris), born Marie Terpsithea Cassavetti ( el, Μαρία Τερψιθέα Κασσαβέτη, sometimes spelled Maria Tepsithia Kassavetti or referred to as Mary), was a British artist and model of Greek descent. She was favoured by the

Pre-Raphaelite 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 ...

Early life

Maria was a daughter of wealthy Anglo-Hellenic merchant Demetrios Cassavetti (d.1858) and his wife Euphrosyne (1822–1896) and niece of the Greek Consul and noted patron Alexander Constantine Ionides. Maria and her cousins

Marie Spartali Stillman Marie Stillman (née Spartali) (Greek: Μαρία Σπαρτάλη; 10 March 1844 – 6 March 1927) was a British member of the second generation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Of the Pre-Raphaelites, she had one of the longest-running caree ...

and Aglaia Coronio were known collectively among friends as "the Three Graces", after the

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites ( ), singular ''Charis'', or Graces, were three or more goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, goodwill, and fertility. Hesiod names three – Aglaea ("Shining"), Euphrosyne ("Joy"), and Tha ...

of Greek mythology. After inheriting her father's fortune in 1858, she was able to lead a more independent life and was known to go unchaperoned while still unmarried.

Artistic life

Maria dedicated herself to art, and studied at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros and under Auguste Rodin in Paris. She worked as a sculptor in the 1880s, sharing studio space in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

with Louise Jopling. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

holds four of her medals that she donated, depicting the heads of young girls. British Museum holdings: Museum numbers- Medal 1 1887,1207.1, Medal 2 1887,0209.1 and Medals 3 and 4 1887,0209.2. She exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1887 and the 1889

Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society was formed in London in 1887 to promote the exhibition of decorative arts alongside fine arts. The Society's exhibitions were held annually at the New Gallery (London), New Gallery from 1888 to 1890, and roug ...

in London. She exhibited at the Paris Salon as well. Familiar within the circles of the Pre-Raphaelites for her dark red hair and pale skin, she did her most notable modelling for artist

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

. She also sat as a model for James McNeill Whistler and

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 ...

Personal life

In 1860, she frightened off her first admirer,

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...

, who called her 'rude and unapproachable but of great talent and a really wonderful beauty'. Instead she married Dr Zambaco in 1860, initially living with him in France. She had a son and a daughter by him. The marriage was not a success and she moved back to live with her mother in London in 1866. Burne-Jones first met her in 1866, when her mother commissioned him to paint her as ''Cupid and Psyche'', and they had an affair which lasted until at least January 1869 and they stayed in contact after. In

Georgiana Burne-Jones Georgiana, Lady Burne-Jones (Birmingham, 21 July 1840 – 2 February 1920) was a painter and engraver, and the second oldest of the Macdonald sisters. She was married to Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artist Edward Burne-Jones, and was also the mothe ...

's ''The Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones'', the affair is not mentioned but the years 1868–1871 are described as 'Heart, thou and I here, sad and alone' (from John Keats's poem: ''Why Did I Laugh Tonight?''). In 1869, Edward Burne-Jones attempted to leave his wife for her, which caused a great scandal. Maria entreated him to commit suicide with her by laudanum overdose by the canal in Little Venice and the police had to be called. After they broke up, Maria continued to appear in Burne-Jones' paintings as a sorceress or a temptress, such as in his last major work of her, '' The Beguiling of Merlin'' (1872–1877), and the controversial
Phyllis and Demophoön
' (1870), which was removed from display at the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

. Friends of the Burne-Jones family, such as Rosalind Howard, cut Maria socially.MacCarthy, Fiona, ''The Last Pre-Raphaelite'' (London: Faber & Faber, 2011), p. 217

Later life and death

She died in Paris in 1914 and her body was returned for interment in the family sarcophagus at the Greek Orthodox necropolis of the South Metropolitan Cemetery at Norwood, where she is recorded under her maiden name. Westnorcem2

Gallery

File:Edward Burne-Jones - Maria Zambaco - Profile Study - Google Art Project.jpg, Study by Edward Burne-Jones, 1866, Pastel on paper, 20.5 x 31.4 cm,

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

Image:Zambocco1.png, Portrait by

, c. 1870 Image:Zambaco burne jones study.jpg, Study by Edward Burne-Jones, c.1870 File:Edward Burne-Jones - Portrait of Maria Zambaco.jpg, ''Portrait of Maria Zambaco'', by Edward Burne-Jones, 1871 File:Rossetti 1967Ma103.jpg, ''Maria Theresa Zambaco'', Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1870, Pastel on paper, 100 x 72 cm, File:Edward Burne-Jones - Phyllis and Demophoon - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Phyllis and Demophoön'', by Edward Burne-Jones, 1870,

Image:Beguiling of Merlin.jpg, '' The Beguiling of Merlin'', by Edward Burne-Jones, 1872–1877,

Lady Lever Art Gallery The Lady Lever Art Gallery is a museum founded and built by the industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme and opened in 1922. The Lady Lever Art Gallery is set in the garden village of Port Sunlight, on the Wirral ...

Image:Burnejones zambaco4.jpg, ''The Tree of Forgiveness'', by Edward Burne-Jones, 1882,

Image:Zambaco medaillon.jpg, Medal, c. 1885, alloy, 11.5 cm,

, Museum number 1887,0209.2

References