Trapped in Beauty: The Meaning Behind Millais' "The Bridesmaid" #art #painting #artlovers

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The Bridesmaid (1851) by John Everett Millais

Depicted with a distracted, far-off gaze and enclosed in a mane of flaming orange hair, Millais’ model delicately holds a small piece of wedding cake over a golden wedding ring.
Such folkloric signs suggestive of rituals performed on St Agnes’ Eve would not have been missed by Victorian audiences. Traditionally held annually on January 20th, the ritual involved girls and unmarried women who wished to see a vision of their future husbands before going to bed.
In Victorian society, a woman’s worth was often tethered to youth, chastity, and material wealth. Attached to the model’s chest is an orange blossom corsage – a symbol of female purity and marriage
Disrupting the symmetrical composition, the phallic silver sugar caster carries sexual overtones too, perhaps symbolising her future husband.
Many critics have suggested the model’s mesmerising gaze suggests fear, as the ornate objects surrounding her serve as visual reminders of her confined existence.

#Millais #victorianart #symbolisminart #artmystery #redhair #StAgnesEve #hiddenmeanings #womeninart #classicpainting