Venus Imaginaria: Reflections on Alexa Wilding, Her Life, and Her Role as Muse in the Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Abstract

While much has been written regarding the associations of Dante Gabriel Rossetti with his wife, Elizabeth Siddal, and mistresses, Fanny Cornforth and Jane Morris, scholars have generally ignored, or at the very least, minimalized, the potential importance of his connection to Alexa Wilding. This thesis shall serve as a rudimentary biography for her through analysis of public records and private letters, and it will examine overlooked evidence in the search for the real woman behind Rossetti's most versatile face, and the influence of the artist on the model as well as the inspiration she gave to him.