A Sea Spell, 1877 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Canvas Print - 1807-ROS
Location: Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Massachusetts, USAOriginal Size: 111.5 x 93 cm
Giclée Canvas Print | $68.74 USD
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*Max printing size: 29.9 x 24.8 in
*Max framing size: Long side up to 28"
"A Sea Spell" will be custom-printed for your order using the latest giclée printing technology. This technique ensures that the Canvas Print captures an exceptional level of detail, showcasing vibrant and vivid colors with remarkable clarity.
Our use of the finest quality, fine-textured canvas lends art reproductions a painting-like appearance. Combined with a satin-gloss coating, it delivers exceptional print outcomes, showcasing vivid colors, intricate details, deep blacks, and impeccable contrasts. The canvas structure is also highly compatible with canvas stretching frames, further enhancing its versatility.
To ensure proper stretching of the artwork on the stretcher-bar, we add additional blank borders around the printed area on all sides.
Our printing process utilizes cutting-edge technology and employs the Giclée printmaking method, ensuring exceptional quality. The colors undergo independent verification, guaranteeing a lifespan of over 100 years.
Please note that there are postal restrictions limiting the size of framed prints to a maximum of 28 inches along the longest side of the painting. If you desire a larger art print, we recommend utilizing the services of your local framing studio.
*It is important to mention that the framing option is unavailable for certain paintings, such as those with oval or round shapes.
If you select a frameless art print of "A Sea Spell" by Rossetti, it will be prepared for shipment within 48 hours. However, if you prefer a framed artwork, the printing and framing process will typically require approximately 7-8 days before it is ready to be shipped.
We provide complimentary delivery for up to two unframed (rolled-up) art prints in a single order. Our standard delivery is free and typically takes 10-14 working days to arrive.
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All unframed art prints are delivered rolled up in secure postal tubes, ensuring their protection during transportation. Framed art prints, on the other hand, are shipped in cardboard packaging with additional corner protectors for added safety.
Painting Information
The composition of this canvas is nothing short of theatrical: every element revolves around a central figure whose very presence seems to stage a silent performance. We are led first by her outstretched arms to the strings of a lute-like instrument, then to her somnolent expression, and finally to the winged form behind her. Though she depicts a mythical siren, the painting never fully abandons its Victorian underpinnings. The romanticized pose - half languor, half reverie - communicates both the dreaminess of a visionary subject and the height of nineteenth-century fascination with dangerous femininity. In this arrangement, viewers become almost unwitting participants, drawn to her in the same way sailors would be lured by her ancient song.
Yet the subtle brushwork holds equal sway over our attention. The layered application of paint, most evident in the translucent folds of her attire, gives the illusion of sunlight filtering through thin fabric. Her auburn hair, crowned by pink blossoms, is rendered with meticulous individual strokes, a visual echo of the Pre-Raphaelite commitment to precise natural detail. At times, the canvas looks as though it has been dusted with gold, reflecting the artist’s preference for sumptuous surfaces. Here, we see that interplay of sensual realism and poetic effect so characteristic of the era.
Rossetti’s color choices intensify that interplay. Pink flowers stand out against the warm, earthy background, a gentle contrast that underscores the erotic undertone. The fruit dangling in the upper half hints at ripe temptation, while the shimmering drapery envelops the figure in an air of otherworldly seduction. In a sense, the palette is active, performing its own spell on the viewer. The environment around her appears lush, perhaps intentionally suffocating, as though the fragrance of those blossoms and the heat of late summer saturate the space.
Historically, the work draws on an older concept of the siren while reflecting Rossetti’s own poetic inclinations. Commissioned in 1877 by Frederick Leyland - a shipping magnate who favored Rossetti’s work - it was initially linked to a Coleridge poem before Rossetti substituted verses from his own. The siren’s human form upends the conventional bird-like portrayal, making her enchantment more familiar and thus more haunting. In the end, this painting captures the enduring mystery of the “femme fatale” in an age that both feared and admired her captivating power.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Original Size:
*Max framing size: Long side up to 28"
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