Maria Zambaco
Encyclopedia
Maria Zambaco was born Marie Terpsithea Cassavetti (sometimes spelled Maria Tepsithia Kassavetti), was an artist and model favoured by the Pre-Raphaelites.
Maria was a daughter of wealthy Anglo-Hellenic merchant Demetrios Cassavetti (d.1858) and his wife Euphrosyne (1822–1896) and niece of the Greek Consul and noted patron Alexander Constantine Ionides
. Maria and her cousins Marie Spartali Stillman
and Aglaia Coronio
were known collectively among friends as "the Three Graces", after the Charites
of Greek mythology.
Familiar within the circles of the Pre-Raphaelites, her most notable modelling was for the British artist Edward Burne-Jones
. She also sat as a model for the American Whistler and Dante Gabriel Rossetti
and was admired by George du Maurier
.
She frightened off her first admirer, George du Maurier
, who called her 'rude and unapproachable but of great talent and a really wonderful beauty'. Instead she married Dr Zambaco in 1860, initially living with him in France. The marriage was not a success and she moved back to live with her mother in London, where she studied painting. Burne-Jones first met her in 1866, when her mother commissioned him to paint her as Cupid and Psyche, and they had an affair which lasted until January 1869. Burne-Jones left his wife for her which caused a great scandal, with Maria ultimately threatening to commit suicide. After they broke up, Maria continued to appear in Burne-Jones' paintings as a sorceress or a temptress, such as in The Beguiling of Merlin and the controversial Phyllis and Demophoön.
Maria dedicated herself to art, and studied at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros
and under Rodin in Paris. She died there in 1914 and her body was returned for interment in the family sarcophagus at the Greek Orthodox necropolis of the South Metropolitan Cemetery at Norwood
, where she is recorded under her maiden name.
Maria was a daughter of wealthy Anglo-Hellenic merchant Demetrios Cassavetti (d.1858) and his wife Euphrosyne (1822–1896) and niece of the Greek Consul and noted patron Alexander Constantine Ionides
Alexander Constantine Ionides
Alexander Constantine Ionides was a British art patron and art collector and patron of Greek ancestry.-Life:...
. Maria and her cousins Marie Spartali Stillman
Marie Spartali Stillman
Marie Euphrosyne Spartali, later Stillman , was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter of Greek descent, arguably the greatest female artist of that movement...
and Aglaia Coronio
Aglaia Coronio
Aglaia Coronio, née Aglaia Ionides was a British embroiderer, bookbinder, art patron and art collector of Greek ancestry. She was a daughter of Alexander Constantine Ionides and brother of Constantine Alexander Ionides. She was also a confidante of William Morris and a friend of Dante Gabriel...
were known collectively among friends as "the Three Graces", after the Charites
Charites
In Greek mythology, a Charis is one of several Charites , goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. They ordinarily numbered three, from youngest to oldest: Aglaea , Euphrosyne , and Thalia . In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae, the "Graces"...
of Greek mythology.
Familiar within the circles of the Pre-Raphaelites, her most notable modelling was for the British artist Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
. She also sat as a model for the American Whistler and Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
and was admired by George du Maurier
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
.
She frightened off her first admirer, George du Maurier
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
, who called her 'rude and unapproachable but of great talent and a really wonderful beauty'. Instead she married Dr Zambaco in 1860, initially living with him in France. The marriage was not a success and she moved back to live with her mother in London, where she studied painting. Burne-Jones first met her in 1866, when her mother commissioned him to paint her as Cupid and Psyche, and they had an affair which lasted until January 1869. Burne-Jones left his wife for her which caused a great scandal, with Maria ultimately threatening to commit suicide. After they broke up, Maria continued to appear in Burne-Jones' paintings as a sorceress or a temptress, such as in The Beguiling of Merlin and the controversial Phyllis and Demophoön.
Alphonse Legros
Alphonse Legros , painter, etcher and sculptor was born in Dijon. His father was an accountant, and came from the neighbouring village of Véronnes....
and under Rodin in Paris. She died there in 1914 and her body was returned for interment in the family sarcophagus at the Greek Orthodox necropolis of the South Metropolitan Cemetery at Norwood
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
, where she is recorded under her maiden name.
Sources
- http://www.xs4all.nl/~androom/biography/p012261.htm
- http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/73658/64756
- West Norwood Cemetery Purchase Registers