Alexa Wilding

Alexa Wilding
La Ghirlandata (1873) modelled by Alexa Wilding, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Born
Alice Wilding

1847
Surrey, England
Died25 April 1884(1884-04-25) (aged 36–37)
London, England
NationalityEnglish
Known forModel (art)
Notable workPortrayed by Rossetti many times, 1860s and 1870s
MovementPre-Raphaelites
ChildrenCharles Wilding
Eleanor "Nellie" Wilding
Alexa Wilding, photographed in the 1860s
Painting of Alexa Wilding
Veronica Veronese (1872)
Alexa Wilding, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1865
Painting of Alexa Wilding
Alexa Wilding (right) in The Bower Meadow (1871–1872) with Marie Spartali Stillman (left), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Alexa Wilding (born Alice Wilding, c. 1847 – 25 April 1884) was one of the favourite models of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, featuring in some of his finest paintings of the later 1860s and 1870s. She sat for more of his finished works than any other of his more well-known muses, including Elizabeth Siddall, Jane Morris and Fanny Cornforth.[1]

Comparatively little is known about Wilding, while Rossetti's other models, Siddall, Morris and Cornforth, are frequently written about. This is perhaps partly due to the lack of any romantic or sexual connection between the pair, which differentiates Rossetti's relationship with Wilding from those with his other muses.[2]

  1. ^ Jiminez, Jill Berk (2001) The Dictionary of Artists' Models (London; Chicago) p. 569.
  2. ^ Lee, Jennifer J. (2006) 'Venus Imaginaria: Reflections on Alexa Wilding, Her Life, and Her Role as Muse in the Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti' (MA thesis, University of Maryland).