Dante Gabriel Rossetti: La Ghirlandata, 1873

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator, and was the brother of poet Christina Rossetti and critic William Michael Rossetti. For many years, Rossetti worked on English translations of Italian poetry, he later created a method of painting in watercolours, using thick pigments mixed with gum to give rich effects similar to medieval illuminations. He also developed a novel drawing technique in pen-and-ink.

He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement, most notably William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Rossetti's art was characterised by its sensuality and its medieval revivalism.

The title La Ghirlandata is translated by the Pre-Raphaelite artist's brother, William Michael, as 'The Garlanded Lady', or 'The Lady of the Wreath'. Largely interpreted as an embodiment of love and beauty, Rossetti depicts a woman playing a harp as two angels surround her, enclosed by vivid flowers - including honeysuckle and roses - and luscious green foliage which melds into the green of her dress. The main model is Alexa Wilding, who worked with Rossetti frequently, and May Morris was the model for both angel heads in the top corners. Painted in 1873, the work belongs to the strongly aesthetic, sensual phase in Rossetti's later career. Between 1871-74 he produced several paintings of women playing musical instruments.

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HC-1506: card size 7" x 5" (178mm x 127mm)