Rossetti was the engine of the Pre-Raphaelite[7] Brotherhood. He co-founded it in 1848[7] with Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, writing the manifesto, recruiting members, and generating the intensity that held the group together. He was nineteen. The name was deliberately provocative: they wanted to reject everything after Raphael, which was most of Western art.
Key facts
Biography
He was born in London to an Italian political exile and named after the author of the Divine Comedy. His father was a professor of Italian at King's College. The household ran on poetry, politics, and argument. Rossetti wrote verse throughout his life and considered himself a poet as much as a painter.
His early paintings are small, bright, and meticulously detailed in the Pre-Raphaelite[7] manner. The Girlhood of Mary Virgin and Ecce Ancilla Domini have the flat, jewelled quality of medieval altarpieces. After 1860[7] the style changed. The paintings became larger, more sensual, and dominated by the face and figure of Jane Burden, who was William Morris's wife.
The relationship between Rossetti, Morris, and Jane is one of the more uncomfortable triangles in art history. Morris married her. Rossetti painted her obsessively. She modelled for Proserpine, La Pia de' Tolomei, and dozens of other works in which she appears as a mythological woman trapped in an unwanted situation. Whether the affair was physical remains debated. Morris, characteristically, said nothing publicly and channelled his feelings into wallpaper.
Rossetti buried a manuscript of his poems in his wife Lizzie Siddal's coffin when she died of a laudanum overdose in 1862[7]. Seven years later he had the coffin exhumed to retrieve them. He published the poems. He was addicted to chloral hydrate by then and increasingly paranoid. He died in 1882[7], at fifty-three.
Timeline
- 1828Born in London to Gabriele Rossetti, an exiled Italian scholar, and Frances Polidori. The household on Charlotte Street was steeped in Dante scholarship and political exile culture.
- 1848At 20, co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in London with John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt after a brief period studying under Ford Madox Brown.
- 1849At 21, exhibited The Girlhood of Mary Virgin at the Free Exhibition in London, his first major painting and the first work to bear the PRB initials publicly.
- 1860At 32, married Elizabeth Siddal in Hastings after an eight-year engagement. Their relationship had been turbulent, complicated by her laudanum addiction and his wandering affections.
- 1862At 33, devastated by Elizabeth Siddal's death from a laudanum overdose in London. In his grief he buried a manuscript of poems in her coffin at Highgate Cemetery.
- 1864At 36, began painting Beata Beatrix in London, a memorial to Siddal that became one of his most celebrated works. He settled into Tudor House on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, filling the garden with exotic animals.
- 1872At 44, suffered a severe mental breakdown in London following a hostile critical review of his exhumed poems. His dependency on chloral hydrate and whisky deepened into addiction.
- 1882Died at 53 on Easter Sunday at a friend's country house in Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, his health destroyed by years of chloral addiction and depression.
Notable Works
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Where to See Dante Gabriel Rossetti
31 museums worldwide.
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18 works
Tate
Tate Britain, United Kingdom
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
Was dante gabriel rossetti italian?
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born and raised in London, but he identified with his parents' Italian roots. His father was exiled from Italy for his political views.When did dante gabriel rossetti die?
Dante Gabriel Rossetti died in 1882[7] at the age of 54.Where did dante gabriel rossetti live?
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born and raised in London. His family lived at 50 Charlotte Street in central London, but later moved to 38 Arlington Road.Who was dante gabriel rossetti's muse?
After 1860[7], Jane Burden, William Morris's wife, became Dante Gabriel Rossetti's muse. She modelled for Proserpine, La Pia de' Tolomei, and other works.What is dante gabriel rossetti known for?
Dante Gabriel Rossetti is known for founding the Pre-Raphaelite[7] Brotherhood. He also identified with his parents' Italian roots, despite being born and raised in London.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
- [1] museum Brooklyn Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Barber Institute of Fine Arts Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] wikipedia Wikipedia: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Used for: biography, birth dates, death dates, identifiers, movement attribution, nationality.
- [8] book Brodskaya Nathalia, Brodskaya Nathalia - Symbolism Used for: biography.
- [9] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.
- [10] book Engen, Rodney K, Pre-Raphaelite prints : the graphic art of Millais, Holman Hunt, Rossetti and their followers Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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