In An Artist's Studio (1856)

In an Artist's Studio
One face looks out from all his canvasses,
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans;
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer greens,
A saint, an angel - every canvass means
The same one meaning, neither more nor less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light;
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

According to Marsh, a visit to brother Dante Gabriel's studio prompted this poem. The artist had several paintings and sketches of Elizabeth (Lizzie) Siddel about. From what I read in Marsh's biography, Christina and the other family members never quite connected with Lizzie, nor she with them. However, we do see from this poem that Christina at least tried to see both what it must be like to be the object of her brother's affection and artistic attention as well as what Gabriel saw in Lizzie.

The poem is an Italian sonnet which may make us think instantly that love will be the subject. But love is more the tool used to explore identity I think. After spending most of the poem praising the muse's beauty and "loveliness" CR observes two things - one: the fact the the paintings hold an ideal vision of some past time ("Not as she is, but when hope shone bright,"), and two: the fact that the ideal vision may not necessarily be the reality (Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.") In this respect, the subject could be said to be little more than a blank canvas. In fact, she is so diminished (even tho' described in terms that should set her apart) that the poet and others ("we") have to "find her." She's hidden behind screens and they only see her in reflection. The poet acknowledges the model's beauty, but again we never see the true image - it is either depicted or reflected. CR hints that the model may be melancholy "wan" and "sorrow" are words that hint at the reality. She looks at the artist and he doesn't see her as she is. Only as he wishes her to be. On a feminist level one could read this as a criticism of male objectification - the woman is never herself, but rather what others (i.e. males) expect her to be and that expectation has more to do with pleasing the male who views her. CR dealt with this somewhat as both Gabriel and her other brother William would often critique her poetry, offering suggestions and alterations. Perhaps she was able to sympathize with the model. The poem is so gentle and so almost conventional that the reader is apt to miss the barb beneath the gauzy sweetness. We see an artist dependent ("he feeds on her face") on his muse, not because of who she is, but because of who he perceives her as.