Study of Guenevere seated in apple tree 1997

This is Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s sketch, Study of Guenevere seated in apple tree, made sometime in the 19th century. Imagine Rossetti with his pen, working the sepia ink, trying to evoke the legendary Queen Guenevere in the orchard. It’s a scene of tentative lines, searching and mapping the figure of Guenevere within the gentle suggestion of an apple tree. There's a quiet drama here. The light brushstrokes give a sense of the Queen in thought, maybe in a moment of reflection or waiting. Her firm grip on the apple, arm extended, is just fantastic! Rossetti's choice of sepia ink gives the drawing a warm, antique feel, doesn’t it? It reminds us of the Pre-Raphaelites' fascination with medieval romance and their attempt to bring emotional depth to their art. Rossetti, like many artists, delves into history and literature, not just to illustrate but to explore his own feelings and ideas about love, beauty, and longing. It's like he's speaking to the past, and the future, through Guenevere.