Aurea Catena - Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Archival giclée
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Description
A refined chalk portrait by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, featuring his model Alexa Wilding in a quiet, introspective pose.
Aurea Catena, created by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1868, is a study in the aesthetic preoccupations of the late Pre-Raphaelite period. The title translates from Latin as Golden Chain, a reference to the delicate necklace held by the sitter. The subject is Alexa Wilding, one of the artist's most frequent models during this decade. Her features, characterised by a strong jawline and voluminous hair, appear in numerous works from this period.
The composition is restrained, focusing on the figure positioned behind a stone parapet. Rossetti employs a combination of black and red chalk to achieve a soft, tonal quality. The red chalk is used sparingly to suggest the warmth of the sitter's hair and lips, providing a subtle contrast to the monochromatic grey tones of the clothing and the background foliage. The background, while sketch-like, provides a sense of space, suggesting an outdoor setting that remains secondary to the psychological presence of the sitter.
Rossetti's approach to portraiture often prioritised mood and symbolic resonance over strict realism. The pose, with the hands resting on the ledge and the gaze directed slightly away from the viewer, creates a sense of introspection. The chain itself acts as a subtle visual anchor, drawing the eye toward the centre of the composition. This work demonstrates the artist's technical proficiency with chalk, allowing for delicate shading and a soft focus that defines his later drawings. It remains a clear example of the shift in his work toward more stylised, decorative portraiture, moving away from the earlier, more narrative-driven subjects of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
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To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Aurea Catena - Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Artist Biography
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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 manner. The Girlhood of Mary Virgin and Ecce Ancilla Domini have the flat, jewelled quality of medieval altarpieces. After 1860 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. 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, at fifty-three.
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