🖌️🎨Emma Sandys (1843–1877) (23)

 🖌️🎨Emma Sandys (1843–1877) - British artist, representative of the Pre-Raphaelite style.
Emma Sandys's paintings are mesmerizing: her medieval images depict brooding women whose thoughts are in a world of their own.
Emma Sandys was born in Norwich (a city in the South East England region) into a family of artists.
His father, Anthony Sandys (pronounced "Sands"), raised two artists: a son, the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter, Frederick Sandys (1829–1904), and a daughter, Emma Sandys.
The father took up the artistic education of both children, paying more attention to his son, because... the earning potential of a male artist in Victorian England was greater.
In terms of style, subject matter and technique, she was influenced by her brother Frederick Sandys (1829-1904), a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and his friend, Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Because Emma also shared Frederick's props and frames, much of Emma's work was often mistaken for her brother's work.
 Only recently have her works begun to be recognized.
Emma's first painting was dated 1863. Between 1867 and 1874 she exhibited her work in London and Norwich. Emma lived for several years in the capital, where she preferred to paint portraits of women and children in medieval clothing against a background of bright colors.
Her passion for the Middle Ages inspired the artist to depict waist-length female figures, tense, thoughtful, relaxed, as if in a dream, looking into the distance.
Symbolic elements and attention to detail add charm to these paintings.
Some of her paintings can be found in the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery.
For example, the painting “Preparing for the Ball” from 1867 is an example of mirror painting.
This painting is known under several names: “Preparing for the Ball”, “Before the Mirror” and “Lady of Shalott”. It looks like a young woman is getting ready to dance.
The viewer can create a whole story. Maybe the lady doesn’t want to go to the ball, but she has to. Perhaps she's just returning home from a reception that somehow didn't live up to expectations...
The eye is drawn to the rich embroidery on the bottom of her velvet dress and the magnificent red robe.
The lady is well-haired and dressed, which confirms the theory that she may be preparing for a ball. However, even in her luxurious outfit, she does not look happy, which leads us to believe that there is a mysterious story hidden in her mysterious look that she does not want to share. A woman casually looking in the mirror does not pay attention to her appearance.
In addition to fashion elements, Sandys often included sparkly details such as jewelry: pearls in the hair and around the neck, jewel-toned fabrics, and lace-trimmed edges.
This medieval aesthetic extends to several of the artist's Arthurian-inspired paintings (as well as paintings by her brother). The painting Elaine, owned by the National Trust, is a prime example of this.
Elaine was the girl of Astolat who fell in love with Lancelot du Lac in the Arthurian myths. Her love was destined to remain unrequited, and in the painting by Emma Sandys the girl is depicted richly dressed, waiting with longing and sadness for love.
A similar concept is "Enid". Enid was the wife of Geraint, a knight in King Arthur's court whose relationship with her husband breaks down due to a misunderstanding, and who is tested and proves her love and loyalty after many trials.
The image of "Lady Holding a Rose" is that of Guinevere, with Camelot in the background reflecting on her plight as she is torn between her love for her husband Arthur (represented by honeysuckle, signifying fidelity in the Victorian language of flowers) and Lancelot, signified by roses, representing passion.

Sources: artuk.org/discover/artwork; tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com; precious.com.