Who was Dante Gabriel Rossetti?
Painter and Poet.
Date and Place of Birth:
12th May 1828, London, England. Christened Gabriel
Charles Dante Rossetti.
Family Background:
Son of Gabrielle Rossetti and Lavinia Polidori
and brother of Christina Rossetti. Also studies in the studio of
Ford Maddox Brown.
Education:
King’s College. Sass’s Drawing School, Bloomsbury,
London. Royal Academy Schools, London.
Chronology/Biography of Dante Gabriel Rossetti:
1848: Forms the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with William Holman
Hunt and John Everett Millais.
1849: Rossetti completes
the painting"Childhood of Mary Virgin." Meets Elizabeth
Siddal for the first time and trains her in the art of painting.
and writing. She becomes his model.
1850: Finalises
work on the painting "Ecce Ancilla Domini". "The
Germ" is published featuring many works by Pre-Raphaelites
and their symapathisers. Rossetti includes his poems "The Blessed
Damozel" and "My Sister's Sleep".
1854: Meets John
Ruskin.
1856: Meets William
Morris, over whom he was to become a great influence.
1861: Rossetti publishes
"The Early Italian Poets" which consisted of translations
from sixty major Italian poets such as Dante himself.
1862: Badly affected
by the death of his wife from an overdose of Laudanum. His work
began to take on a more and more morbid turn.
1869: Began an affair
with Jane Morris, the wife of William Morris.
1871-74: Jane began
to model for him on his stay at Kelmscott Manor.
House at 16 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea where Rossetti lived.
(Algernon Charles Swinburne later went
to live with him there)
(© Anthony Blagg)
1872: After a particularly
bad attack of depression he attempted suicide.
1880: Jane posed
for his painting "The Daydream".
1881: Rossetti published
his "Ballads and Sonnets" which featured "The King's
Tragedy.
Written Works:
- 1850: “The
Gem.”
- 1861: “Early
Italian Poets”.
- 1870:
“Poems”.
- 1881:
“Ballads and Sonnets”.
- (1886):
“Collected Works”.
Marriage:
1860 to Elizabeth Siddal. (died 1862 from an
overdose of Laudanum)
Date and Place of Death:
9th April 1882,
Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, England.
Age at Death:
54.
Site of Grave:
All Saint's Churchyard, Birchington-on-Sea, Kent,
England.
Places of Interest:
BIRMINGHAM:
Museum and Art Gallery
CUMBRIA:
Tulie House Museum, Carlisle
DORSET:
Russell Coates Gallery, Bournemouth
LONDON:
Tate Britain
Victoria and Albert Museum
16 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea
National Portrait Gallery
William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow
LANCASHIRE:
Bolton Art Gallery
MANCHESTER:
City Art Gallery.
MERSEYSIDE:
Sudley House, Liverpool
NORFOLK:
Norwich Castle Museum
YORKSHIRE:
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Map[in Art Gallery, Sheffield
SCOTLAND:
McManus Galleries, Dundee
Aberdeen Art Gallery
