Saint Barbara
Marie Spartali Stillman
Anglo–Greek, born in England, 1843–1927

Details
Title
Saint Barbara
Artist/Maker
Marie Spartali Stillman (Anglo–Greek, born in England, 1843–1927)
Date
ca. 1875–1880
Medium
Bodycolor, watercolor, and pencil on paper mounted on board
Dimensions
26 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches
Credit
Purchase with funds from the Phoenix Society
Accession #
1994.52
Location
Currently not on view
Marie Spartali Stillman regularly exhibited both at the Royal Academy of Arts and at the Grosvenor Gallery in London, a radical alternative to the Academy founded in 1877. Her works also were shown at important American venues in Washington, DC; Philadelphia; and Boston. Stillman’s most important artistic influences were her teacher, Ford Maddox Brown, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Stillman’s attention to detail in this watercolor and its languid mood typify the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic, as do the model’s auburn hair and medieval-looking costume.