Regina Cordium: Alice Wilding 1866

Curator: Rossetti’s "Regina Cordium: Alice Wilding" painted in 1866, is a striking example of Pre-Raphaelite portraiture. The work, primarily in oil paint, centers around the figure of Alice Wilding. Editor: It's captivating! The way the sitter gazes directly out, almost challenging the viewer...and that lush golden backdrop juxtaposed against her pallid skin. It gives the whole piece a strange, ethereal quality. Curator: Agreed. And it's important to remember the role that the Pre-Raphaelites, including Rossetti, played in challenging the dominant academic styles of the time. They sought inspiration in medieval art and early Italian Renaissance painting, before what they perceived as the corruption of art by Renaissance classicism. Editor: I find it fascinating to analyze Wilding as a working class figure who modelled for many artists of this period and the way she occupies, or perhaps disrupts, a position of idealised beauty. This is more than a likeness. The title “Queen of Hearts” nods towards symbolic associations of beauty, purity, perhaps even, given the historical context, ideas around class aspiration. Curator: Precisely. Think too about the socio-economic forces at play during the mid-19th century, and how the burgeoning art market fueled this kind of portraiture, shaping its content and reception. The aestheticization of women within patriarchal structures becomes a vital area for exploration. Editor: And those roses! Their carefully placed arrangement alongside her fingers draw our attention to female agency. There's something both empowering and melancholy about this image—she's almost holding herself back, isn't she? Curator: I concur. I always considered that positioning of the roses could indeed represent the Victorian idea of female containment and controlled beauty, a reflection of societal expectations projected onto women. Rossetti uses rich color and detail, layering symbolic weight into every element of this portrait. It gives "Regina Cordium" such an intense impact. Editor: This piece, ultimately, encapsulates complex themes regarding representation, gender and societal expectations, opening pathways for further dialogues surrounding art’s public role in culture and politics.