Rossetti: Painter and Poet

by J.B. Bullen

Dante Gabriel Rossetti is the most intriguing and flamboyant figure in nineteenth-century British art. He inspired the first Pre-Raphaelite generation of 1849 and the second generation ten years later and both brought about significant changes in British art. His poetry, too, acted as a stimulus to many writers at the end of the century, who saw in his subtle manipulation of the sonnet and the ballad forms ways of giving expression to issues that were peculiar to the that century.

Dominant among those issues was that of sexual desire, for Rossetti, more than any other artist in this period, struggled with the contradictions of sexuality. When he died in 1882 people knew of him as the painter of alluring women with exotic names - Lilith, Monna Vanna, Fiammetta - and the writer of subtly erotic verse. He projected onto women his anxieties, his pleasures and his needs. He also mythologized them, so that Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Jane Morris and others became for him Beatrice, Guenevere, and Isolde. In doing so he shaped them, he changed the direction of their lives, and in some cases he both made and destroyed them.

This richly illustrated book, by tracing the development of Rossetti's painting and poetry in the context of the drama of his life, follows this powerful thread. Sometimes sensual, at others spiritual, Rossetti's mission was to transcend the Manichean division that separated body and soul and, through the visionary power of art, reconcile what he saw as elements fundamental to human experience.

Genres: Art

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2011

Reviews

[Ptjerónimo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma biografia que não obstante a sua ambição, a erudição patenteada e a qualidade analítica está longe de ser conseguida. Terminada a sua leitura, a imagem com que ficamos de Rossetti continua a ser muito nebulosa e pouco destacada da miríade de personagem com quem o artista/poeta se cruzou em vida. De realçar entre essas personagens a do "aventureiro português" Charles Augustus Howel (!?) responsável pela audaciosa expedição empreendida para recuperar a obra poética de Rossetti que fora sepultada com a falecida mulher do artista, Elizabeth Sidall...

[Steve Platt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, lots of good quality pictures, very interesting text. I now want to know more about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does every painting an artist produces directly explore the issues in that artist's life at that time? I'm not convinced it does. The author does a great job at tracking features in Rossetti's art alongside developments in Rossetti's personal life to create a "whole person" story of Rossetti, but I never completely bought into this approach. It's also very much an art critic/art history perspective - and neglects the technical achievements of the pre-Raphaelites. Other than a brief mention that he painted oils thinly with water-colours brushes, there is no insight at all into how Rossetti constructed his paintings - the book concentrates on the symbolic meaning of his art, and ignores the story of how the man and his friends went about crafting it.

Still, the plates are gorgeous - the best I've seen - and the analysis of what Rossetti was trying to express about being human was utterly convincing.

[Domhnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and gorgeous book but to be honest, it is quite a dry read. Artists can be far less interesting than their art.

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting information about Rossetti's life, the PRB and artwork but not as much about his poetry. Well put together.