Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Maids of Elfen-Mere, engraved by the Dalziel Brothers

published 1855

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

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Not on display

Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828–1882
Medium: Wood engraving on paper
Dimensions: Image: 127 × 76 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Purchased 1924
Reference: N03971

Display caption

Rossetti designed this illustration for William Allingham's volume 'The Music Maker, A Love Story and Two Series of Day and Night Songs', which was published in 1855. It was one of the first works by Rossetti that Burne-Jones saw. Writing in the 'Oxford and Cambridge Magazine' in 1856, he considered it 'The most beautiful drawing for an illustration I have ever seen; the weirdness of the Maids of Elfen-Mere, the musical timed movement of their arms together as they sing, the face of the man above all, are such as only a great artist could conceive'.

Gallery label, September 2004

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