Elizabeth Seydal .. The beautiful ghost with red hair

Each achievement has its own story, which varies with the difference of its owner and its perception of what surrounds it, whether it is a painting, sculpture, engineering design, fashion collection, or an event other than the course of history, and whatever the work is different in its composition and the invisible threads that formed it, which you do not see. Only the eye of its owner, remains the inspiring character, is the only criterion that does not change, and remains that mysterious and controversial relationship, is the real spark that provokes innovation, who are the inspirations in history?

It is interesting that the story of an international fictional character resembles the realistic details of one of the most famous models that have been portrayed in the history of art, becoming the British painter, poet and artist Elizabeth Seedal, the only face that may visit the imagination of reading about «Ophelia» in the play «Hamlet» To William Shakespeare, and to turn the painting of John Everett Mehlis, of the same name, into the gate through which Sidal entered the world of art.

Lizzie, or so she was known in her circle, with long red hair, and sleepy eyes, which were described as closer to the agate stone in color and luster, which many did not know until after her death, was able to turn into something closer to the legend, the details of a romantic life at times, And drama at other times, and many of the mystery that wrapped her death. Her beautiful pale ghost, the book that disappeared among her fiery locks inside her coffin, her poems that have not seen the light, and her pre-era paintings.

Many dramas have attempted to draw a close copy of her life, but it may be hard to keep up with the imagination of the hat-tale reader Lizzy and her face that inspired the most famous 19th-century painters of the pre-Raphaelite elite, the same face Dante Gabriel Rossetti signed in A fine love at first sight, to start between them from that moment a love story that lasted for a decade concluded with a short marriage and ended with her mysterious death.

Elizabeth was born Eleanor Sedal, named after her mother, on July 25, 1829, in Hatton Garden on the outskirts of the British capital London. However, the family moved to Southwark, south London, at the age of two, an area considered to be unhealthy air, while the remaining five brothers were born in their new home. Although there was no documentary evidence of Elizabeth's regular schooling, she was able to read and write, indicating that her parents were keen to teach her at home, while developing a passion for poetry from a young age, after accidentally reading a poem by the British poet Tennyson. , Which motivated her to start personally writing poetry.

Discovery

It was pure coincidence that brought Lizzie into the world of feather and colors, after the painter Walter Deverell met her at the Tozeur hats shop where she was working in 1849, praising her for the breathtaking beauty he described as closer to the beauty of a Greek sculpture than the work of Phidias. She is the perfect candidate to portray Viola in his "Twelfth Night," inspired by a scene of William Shakespeare, a scene in which Viola masquerades as a man.

The clown Veste

Although Diffril's painting, known to Sidal as a painting and arts scientist, is not her best known, she considers the intersection precisely to the beginning of her story. , Compiled by a long and stormy love relationship documented by the history of art.

Ophelia

Ophelia's painting, by John Everett Mehlis, can be considered as one of the most delicately painted works of Seedal, making the two characters separate from the imagination of those who knew or read about them. It reflects the dedication and professionalism of this girl, and her ability to adapt to the harsh conditions when working on a work of art.

To achieve the accuracy required in drawing the scene of the end of Ophelia drowning in the pond and its floating dress around it, Sedal had to lie down in a basin filled with water that was kept at a balanced temperature by surrounding him with lamps, and one day as the painting neared completion, the lamps stopped working Elbe did not notice Mehlis, who was immersed in the drawing, while Sedal floated in cold water for hours without complaint, which made her fall prey to severe illness, especially since she was not healthy, and she was going through a constant illness throughout her life, for her angry father to write Letter to the painter, however, Mehlis was keen p Z settle the matter and pay the treatment Sidal which recovered rapidly costs.

Lizzy's association with the Pre-Raphaelian Association and her cooperation with the painters of this fraternity were not only professional, but also emotional, as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a charming character, was not apart, not only obsessed with her drawing, but also encouraging her to draw and write. Poetry, describing it as having “simply another world and the purity of nativity”, continues their relationship through an informal 10-year engagement that ended in marriage in 1860.