Lady Lilith

Lady Lilith was commissioned by the Liverpool shipping magnate Frederick Richards Leyland in early 1866. On 9 April 1866 Rossetti wrote to Leyland describing the work as "a lady combing her hair," the same size as Palmifera, with a palette of white and silver and a great mass of golden hair. Rossetti painted the canvas between 1866 and 1868 using his mistress Fanny Cornforth as model, and delivered it to Leyland in early 1869 at a price of £472 10s.

The painting was returned to Rossetti in February 1872, and he completed the repainting on 2 December at Kelmscott Manor before returning it to Leyland, substituting Alexa Wilding's face for Cornforth's.

After Leyland's death in 1892 the painting was acquired by the American textile industrialist Samuel Bancroft of Wilmington, Delaware. In 1935 Bancroft's estate donated his European painting collection, including Lady Lilith, to the Delaware Art Museum, where it remains.

Within the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Lady Lilith serves as a seminal exploration of the femme fatale archetype, contrasting physical allure with spiritual emptiness. Rossetti conceived the work as a modern interpretation of the mythological figure, pairing it with Sibylla Palmifera to represent "Body's Beauty" against "Soul's Beauty." This thematic duality was formalized in the sonnets published alongside the paintings in The House of Life, where the two works were presented as consecutive sonnets.

The painting's critical legacy includes its influence on subsequent "mirror pictures" depicting narcissistic female figures, with scholars often citing it as the epitome of the genre. Twentieth-century criticism has further reframed the work through a feminist lens, interpreting Lilith as a symbol of Victorian anxiety regarding the emancipated woman who resists male domination. The 1872–73 alteration of the model's face from Fanny Cornforth to Alexa Wilding, likely at the behest of patron Frederick Richards Leyland, underscores the work's complex relationship between artistic vision and commercial demand.

Lady Lilith established itself as the definitive example of the "mirror picture" genre, inspiring other painters to create similar works featuring narcissistic female figures. The painting's reputation evolved significantly in the twentieth century when critics began interpreting Lilith as an embodiment of Victorian anxiety regarding the emancipated woman, reframing her as an early advocate for women's rights rather than merely a mythological temptress. This feminist reading highlights her resistance to male domination and her dual nature as both alluring and dangerous.

The work's legacy is further cemented by its thematic pairing with Sibylla Palmifera, which Rossetti explicitly contrasted as representing "Body's Beauty" against "Soul's Beauty." Although the original oil painting resides in the Delaware Art Museum, a large 1867 watercolour replica featuring the original model Fanny Cornforth is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ensuring the image's continued visibility in major collections.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's oil painting, Lady Lilith, depicts a figure from ancient Judaic myth. Completed between 1866 and 1868, and later revised, the work portrays Lilith, often described as Adam's first wife. Rossetti's interpretation emphasizes her legendary associations with female power and allure, presenting a compelling and somewhat enigmatic image. The painting is a notable example of his engagement with literary and mythological themes.