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Lesbia and her sparrow
John Edward Poynter’s painting (“Lesbia and her sparrow”, 1907) and my patterns. The poet Catulle (1st before J.-C) nicknamed his lover Claudia “Lesbia” in reference to the isle of Lesbos (Greece) where she grew up. The famous poetess Sappho lived there. Her poems were about love between women ; that’s why the term “lesbian” was…
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Lady Lilith
Dante Rossetti’s painting (Lady Lilith, 1866) and my floral pattern. Dante Rossetti painted as a model his mistress Fanny Cornforth but he changed it in 1872 and painted the face of Alexa Wilding. Rossetti wrote a sonnet dedicated to Lilith. Lilith was Adam’s first wife in Jewish mythology. She was a symbol of temptation and…
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Elle m’apparaissait telle une vahiné laissant derrière elle, un doux parfum de fleur d’oranger
“Du palais d’émeraude où la riche nature M’a fait naître et régner avecque majesté, Je viens pour adorer la divine beauté Dont le soleil n’est rien qu’une faible peinture. Si je n’ai point l’éclat ni les vives couleurs Qui font l’orgueil des autres fleurs, Par mes odeurs je suis plus accomplie, Et par ma pureté…