Mnemosyne

This painting, much like Rossetti’s earlier composition of Beata Beatrix that we also featured in DailyArt (please check our archive!) can be interpreted as a memorial to a past love. In this case, the love was Jane Morris (wife of William Morris) with whom he had an affair in the 1870s. Mnemosyne is the goddess of memory and the mother of the muses, a poignant symbol of the importance of his relationship with Jane Morris. It was originally to be called Ricordanza, a slightly archaic form of the Italian word for remembrance. This earlier title is just barely visible at the upper left, where it has been covered over with paint. As is always the case in Rossetti’s double-works, the inscription on the frame reinforces the theme conveyed in the image:

Thou fill’st from the winged chalice of the Soul
Thy lamp, O Memory, fire-winged to its goal.

Have a great week!