Mnemosyne

"Mnemosyne" also known as "Lamp of Memory" and "Ricordanza" is a captivating oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Initiated in 1875 or early 1876 and completed in 1881, it features Jane Morris as the model. This artwork was acquired by Frederick Richards Leyland in 1881 and displayed in his drawing room alongside five other pieces by Rossetti. Rossetti, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, worked on "Mnemosyne" while also creating "Astarte Syriaca" a larger painting finished in 1877, which also features Morris in a similar pose.

Initially conceived as an oil study for "Astarte Syriaca" Rossetti reimagined it as an image of Mnemosyne, the Greek personification of memory. This painting became one of Rossetti's last completed works. Its frame bears the inscription: "Thou fill'st from the winged chalice of the soul Thy lamp, O Memory, fire-winged to its goal."

After Leyland's purchase in 1881, "Mnemosyne" remained in his drawing room until it was sold at his estate sale in 1892. The painting passed through several gallery sales before being acquired by the estate of Samuel Bancroft in 1916, an avid collector of Pre-Raphaelite art. The Bancroft estate generously donated the painting to the Delaware Art Museum in 1935.

"Mnemosyne" has been exhibited in numerous prestigious locations, including London in 1883, Glasgow in 1893, London again in 1906, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1976, and Richmond, Virginia, in 1982. The painting not only highlights Rossetti's artistic skill but also his ability to evoke the classical theme of memory through the figure of Mnemosyne.