Dante Gabriel Rossetti

One of Victorian Englands most charismatic characters, Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted and wrote with equal passion. He was similarly passionate in his personal life: his ethereal artist-wife, his earthy blond mistress, and the ravishing Jane Morris are all immortalized in his voluptuous images. The melodrama of Rossettis life, darkened by rumors of suicide, adultery, and addiction, has often overshadowed his striking accomplishments as a painter. This evocative volume vividly illuminates his life and his art. Two hundred sixty-five illustrations-140 in full color-capture the lush hues and elaborate imagery of his romantic canvases. The astute text provides-at long last-a clear and candid account of the artist that carefully untangles fact from myth. Reminiscences from the artists great-grandniece Helen Guglielmini provide an engaging glimpse of life with the Rossettis.

Rossettis career is chronicled from his early achievements as a founder of the tremendously influential Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, through his involvement with William Morriss revolutionary design firm, to the grandly unorthodox images of his final years. Skillfully weaving in quotes from the artist and his contemporaries, Dr. Faxon brings to life a charming, contradictory man. Sometimes delightful, sometimes infuriating, Rossetti was as apt to scribble a witty limerick or dash off a jokey caricature as he was to brood over a medieval fantasy or heartsick sonnet.

Rossettis prodigious art encompassed the meticulously detailed canvases of his early years, the jewellike brilliance of his medieval tableaux, and the sensuously alluring women of his late paintings. He plundered the past for his painted and poetic images-especially favoring the tales of Dante and the romantic adventures of King Arthur-but his art was always uniquely his own, instantly recognizable and unforgettable. Beautifully designed with luscious reproductions, telling details, and graceful ornamentation, this is the first lavishly illustrated monograph devoted to this extravagantly talented artist.