Dante Gabriel Rossetti

British·1828–1882

53 paintings in our database

His later paintings are characterized by sumptuous coloring, flowing compositions, and iconic images of beautiful women surrounded by flowers and symbolic objects.

Biography

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born on 12 May 1828 in London, the son of an Italian political exile and scholar. He was the founding spirit of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which he established in 1848 with John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt. The Brotherhood sought to revive the sincerity and detailed naturalism of art before Raphael, challenging the conventions of the Royal Academy.

Rossetti was equally accomplished as a poet and painter. His early paintings, particularly The Girlhood of Mary Virgin (1849) and Ecce Ancilla Domini (1850), exemplify Pre-Raphaelite principles with their bright colors, precise detail, and medieval subjects. His later work shifted toward sensuous, dreamlike images of beautiful women, inspired by Dante Alighieri, Arthurian legend, and his own turbulent emotional life.

Rossetti's personal life was marked by his passionate relationship with Elizabeth Siddal, whom he married in 1860 and who died of a laudanum overdose in 1862. His later muses included Jane Morris, wife of William Morris, whose features dominated his later paintings. Rossetti became increasingly reclusive and troubled, suffering from depression and chloral addiction. He died at Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, on 9 April 1882.

Artistic Style

Rossetti's art evolved from the bright, precise naturalism of early Pre-Raphaelitism to the rich, sensuous style of his later paintings. His early works feature meticulous detail, vivid colors, and medieval subjects rendered with almost naive sincerity. His later paintings are characterized by sumptuous coloring, flowing compositions, and iconic images of beautiful women surrounded by flowers and symbolic objects.

His palette grew increasingly rich and warm over time, with deep reds, greens, and golds creating an atmosphere of opulent beauty. Rossetti's drawing was always powerful and distinctive, with a sinuous, expressive line that gave his figures a brooding, mysterious presence.

Historical Significance

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was one of the most influential British artists of the nineteenth century and the driving force behind the Pre-Raphaelite movement, which fundamentally challenged the conventions of Victorian art. His combination of painting and poetry, his medieval romanticism, and his cult of beauty anticipated the Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau.

His influence extended far beyond painting, shaping the Arts and Crafts movement through his association with William Morris and contributing to the broader Symbolist movement in European art. His work remains central to understanding Victorian culture.

Things You Might Not Know

•Rossetti buried a notebook of unpublished poems in Elizabeth Siddal's coffin when she died in 1862, then had the coffin exhumed seven years later to retrieve them — claiming her red hair was still perfectly preserved.
•He kept a private menagerie at his Chelsea house that included wombats, a zebu, peacocks, a kangaroo, and a laughing jackass — neighbors were not pleased.
•He was so obsessed with Janey Morris (William Morris's wife) in his later years that he filled his studio with over 100 portraits of her, and his letters to her were found after his death.
•He became addicted to chloral hydrate (a sedative) after his wife's death, and the addiction eventually destroyed his health and mental stability.
•Despite being co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Rossetti never actually went to Italy — his Italianate medieval imagery was entirely constructed from books, engravings, and imagination.

Influences & Legacy

Shaped By

Dante Alighieri — Rossetti translated the 'Vita Nuova' and was named after Dante; the poet's idealized love and medieval Italian imagery pervaded his entire output
Early Italian painting — Rossetti's Pre-Raphaelite program was based on the idea of returning to the art before Raphael, studying Botticelli, Mantegna, and the Quattrocento
John Keats and medieval poetry — the Romantic poetry of Keats and Tennyson's medievalism provided literary sources for Rossetti's subjects

Went On to Influence

Edward Burne-Jones — Rossetti's most devoted follower, who carried the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic into the late Victorian period with even more elaborate technical refinement
Aestheticism — Rossetti's idea of art as existing purely for beauty rather than moral instruction was the foundation of the Aesthetic movement
William Morris — though Morris pursued applied arts, Rossetti's circle was the direct origin of Morris's Arts and Crafts movement
Symbolism — Rossetti's influence on European Symbolism, particularly in Belgium and France, was significant and acknowledged