Portrait of Major Calder Campbell 

Editor: So, this is Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s pencil drawing, “Portrait of Major Calder Campbell.” The academic-art style creates a fairly life-like representation of Major Calder Campbell, but something about his averted gaze and slightly furrowed brow gives him an aura of melancholy. How would you interpret the mood that Rossetti captures here? Curator: It's interesting that you pick up on melancholy. For me, looking at this piece is like overhearing a private thought. Rossetti’s use of delicate shading does indeed suggest a man caught in a moment of reflection, but it's not just melancholy, is it? There's also a quiet dignity. A kind of "stiff upper lip" stoicism so often associated with that era, don't you think? Editor: Yes, I do see that now, a subdued but powerful sense of self-possession. Were portraits like this a common commission for Rossetti? Curator: Rossetti wasn't primarily a portraitist, which is perhaps what gives this drawing its unique character. The intimacy feels less like a formal commission and more like a spontaneous capturing of a personality, as if he caught the Major unaware. He saw something beyond the surface, perhaps a shared sense of…well, let’s just call it the human condition. The very precise work here makes you think Rossetti respected Campbell immensely. It's more about insight than likeness. Do you get that impression as well? Editor: I definitely see the personal respect coming through, yes. I was so focused on the melancholy, that I missed that sense of admiration that is clearly represented in this drawing. Curator: And that's the beauty of art, isn't it? We each bring our own baggage to it, and in turn, the art reveals something new to us about ourselves. It whispers secrets we weren't expecting to hear. Editor: Definitely. Looking at it in this new light now, this feels almost like a meeting of minds as much as a likeness, brought to life with nothing more than a pencil. Thank you!