Pandora

Resource added
This is a painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti titled Pandora (1871), depicting a striking woman with flowing auburn hair, dressed in a rich, deep red gown. She holds an ornate, glowing casket—or Pandora’s Box—close to her chest, with an intense, almost sorrowful expression. A dark, moody background enhances the sense of mystery and foreboding, while Rossetti’s signature style is evident in the rich colors, intricate details, and symbolic elements of items such as her inscripted box.
Rossetti wrote a sonnet on the theme to accompany his design, publishing it in his Poems of 1870:

What of the end, Pandora? Was it thine, The deed that set these fiery pinions free? Ah! wherefore did the Olympian consistory In its own likeness make thee half divine? Was it that Juno's brow might stand a sign For ever? and the mien of Pallas be A deadly thing? and that all men might see In Venus' eyes the gaze of Proserpine?

What of the end? These beat their wings at will, The ill-born things, the good things turned to ill, Powers of the impassioned hours prohibited. Aye, hug the casket now! Whither they go Thou mayst not dare to think: nor canst thou know If Hope still pent there be alive or dead.

Full description

Oil painting of Pandora and her box by Dante Gabriel Rossetti on a 51 1/2 x 31 in. canvas, created in 1871. The sorrow of his great Pandora is the sorrow of a goddess over her own infirmity. She has opened the mystic casket which she was given to keep sealed, and now she stands helpless before the witness of her deed. The potent spirits are escaping from her box, and she can never undo the mischief she has done.

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  • type
    Image
  • created on
  • file format
    jpg
  • file size
    353 kB
  • creator
    Dante Gabriel Rossetti
  • rights holder
    Private Collection
  • rights territory
    UK