Portrait of Fanny Cornforth 1869

Dante Gabriel Rossetti captured Fanny Cornforth in this pencil drawing with a gaze directed slightly away, as if lost in thought. Her hands, gently clasped, add to this sense of introspection. Consider the earring she wears, shaped like an infinity symbol, an ouroboros serpent eating its tail, a motif echoed through the ages, from ancient Egypt to the alchemists of the Renaissance. It represents cyclicality, the eternal return, and the continuous recreation of life from destruction. We see this symbol across cultures, each time subtly altered, yet retaining its core essence. Think of the medieval allegories of Fortuna, the goddess of fate, her wheel ever turning, dictating the rises and falls of human fortunes. Rossetti taps into this deep well of collective memory, evoking a sense of timelessness and the eternal feminine. He presents not just a portrait, but a modern woman linked to ancient archetypes.