Pandora
James Smetham, 1821-89
c.1865
Oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches (76.5 x 61 cm)
Private collection.
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Casteras has described this picture as: ”an imaginative half-length portrait of a woman, with Rossettian tracts such as emblematic props and flowers, off-set by a phlegmatic, rather non-sensual expression” (86). Pandora wears a wreath, possibly of laurel leaves, and holds a small bouquet of unidentified flowers in her left hand. These were likely included for symbolic purposes. The model for Pandora was Ellen Smith who also posed for Rossetti at this time period.