Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English artist, poet, and translator who lived from 1828 to 1882. In addition to his work, Rossetti is remembered for co-founding the influential Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood art movement; an art style which is still very popular today.
Rossetti was born in London, England, as Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti. The name “Dante Gabriel Rossetti” was how he later chose to sign his work. Rossetti’s first aspirations were to be a poet, but he soon took up painting due to his love for Medieval Italian art. At age 14, Rossetti’s art education began when he attended Henry Sass’s Drawing Academy and then the Royal Academy’s Antique School. He was introduced to the idea of the German Nazarene art movement by Ford Madox Ford. The Nazarene art movement was an attempt to bring art back to the pre-Renaissance era and it deeply inspired Rossetti.
In 1848, Rossetti, along with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This art group had a common aspiration to return to the rich detail, colors, and composition of art during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, prior to the classical poses and compositional style that started with Raphael. They also wanted “truth to nature” and aimed to depict nature in detail to its truest form. Rossetti’s first works in the Pre-Raphaelite style were religious and as such, were heavily criticized. In response, Rossetti shifted the focus of his subjects to those of the literary world, which allowed him more freedom in his work.
In 1849, Rossetti met the artist and model, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Siddall. Siddell was Rossetti’s muse, and it is said that he painted and drew thousands of images of her. They got engaged in 1852 and married in 1860. Just two years later, in 1862, Elizabeth Siddall died from an overdose of laudanum. She was suffering from postpartum depression after the stillbirth of her daughter.
In 1854, Rossetti formed a friendship with artists William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones and helped to begin the second wave of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement. During this second wave, the artists of the movement aspired to create a romantic and longing view of times past. During this period, a lot of works centered around the Arthurian legends were created.
Rossetti used the model, Alexa Wilding, for many of his works. Wilding was one of Rossetti’s favorite models and he immortalized her in over 15 of his finished paintings and at least 13 drawings. He was so enamored of her fine features that he paid her to exclusively model for only him. Several times, he substituted the facial features of other models with that of Wildling. He also used fellow artist, Edward Robert Hughes, as a model.
Later in his life, Rossetti returned to his original love of poetry, and published his first book of poems. The critics panned it and in 1872, he suffered from a mental breakdown. Unfortunately, he never fully recovered from this period in his life. By 1874, he was addicted to chloral hydrate and kept himself hidden in recluse. Dante Gabriel Rossetti died on Easter Sunday in 1882 from Bright’s disease. He was just 53 years old.
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