If One Could Have That Little Head of Hers 1910

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale made this painting, 'If One Could Have That Little Head of Hers' with watercolour and touches of gold leaf, it really shimmers. I can imagine her applying each colour separately, letting it dry, layering them. It reminds me a lot of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, in terms of theme and feeling, but what strikes me in particular is the gold work; that shimmering halo behind her head. Imagine the artist carefully applying gold leaf with meticulous precision. Each pearl, each detail… Gold represents divinity and power but here, that is contrasted with the softness of the girl’s face, the way her eyes softly gaze into the distance. Maybe she's dreaming of true love? Of course, there's also the colour, the blue of her dress against the gold, each enriching the other. And how does it relate to the artist's other work? Fortescue-Brickdale was exploring what it meant to portray female beauty in a way that balanced realism with idealized form.