Maria Zambaco

Maria Cassavetti Zambaco
Maria Zambaco, née Cassavetti, in Cupid and Psyche by Edward Burne-Jones
Born	Maria Cassavetti 29 April 1843 London, England
Died	14 July 1914 Paris, France
Nationality	British and Greek
Education	Slade School
Movement	Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Aesthetic Movement, Arts and Crafts Movement

Maria Zambaco (29 April 1843, London – 14 July 1914, Paris), born Marie Terpsithea Cassavetti (Greek: Μαρία Τερψιθέα Κασσαβέτη, sometimes spelled Maria Tepsithia Kassavetti or referred to as Mary), was a British artist and model of Greek descent. She was 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. After inheriting her father's fortune in 1858, she was able to lead a more independent life and was known to go unchaperoned while still unmarried.

Maria dedicated herself to art, and studied at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros and under Auguste Rodin in Paris. She worked as a sculptor in the 1880s and The British Museum holds four of her medals that she donated, depicting the heads of young girls. British Museum holdings: Museum numbers- Medal 1 1887,1207.1, Medal 2 1887,0209.1 and Medals 3 and 4 1887,0209.2.

She exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1887 and the 1889 Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in London. She exhibited at the Paris Salon as well.

Familiar within the circles of the Pre-Raphaelites for her dark red hair and pale skin, 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.