DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI

by Julian et al Treutherz

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was the central figure of the Pre-Raphaelites. Together with Hunt and Millais, he started the original Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and was the 'poetic inspiration' of the movement. His turbulent and romantic imagery has always beguiled and intrigued art-lovers.

This beautifully illustrated book, published to accompany the landmark Rossetti exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Walker in Liverpool, is the most thorough and up-to-date analysis of the life and career of this pivotal nineteenth-century English painter available today.

It reproduces all of his most famous works in glorious colour, and major sections are also devoted to Rossetti's subjects from Dante; his representations of artists and their models; his drawings of Elizabeth Siddal; the medievalizing watercolours of the late 1850s; his monumental decorative projects at Llandaff Cathedral and at the Oxford Union; and his contributions to the decorative arts in the form of book bindings and illustrations, stained glass, furniture and picture frames.

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Victorian, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosetti’s art occupies a special niche. It makes some art lowers excited and looks overrated to others. Whether you are a fan of Rossetti's art or just want to learn about his work because he was one of the key figures of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Victorian art in general, this is a great book to check.

This book was published in the golden time of art book production and it is an excellent example of a single-artist book. Large format, good paper, informative text, abundant illustrations (the book boasts 190 illustrations, 140 in color). While it is an exhibition book, the coverage of the exhibition was really great enabling the book to provide an excellent view into the life and art of Rossetti. In total, the catalog includes 171 items. Not all of them are paintings – there are old photographs and other objects, yet major Rossetti’s paintings are exceptionally well represented, most with full-page presentation in excellent color. To extend the coverage, the book includes some full-page photographs of paintings not presented in the exhibitions. The core part of the book is formed by three excellent essays that introduce three key periods /aspects of the artist’s life and are illustrated by full-size reproduction of paintings of the covered period (which refer to their corresponding number in the catalog). This makes the book look like a monograph, not a usual exhibition book. A systematic presentation of the exhibition follows after the “art and life part”, here paintings and other objects are presented in the catalog order with additional color thumbnails of each object, details, and a “story”. With this approach, the book works well as a monograph and a catalog. I checked a few other books on Rosetti (not all) and this is so far my favorite in respect of both quality and coverage.

[Dawson Escott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice exhibition catalog. The three essays in the front half are pretty great and interesting, they don't do too much to challenge the mythology of Rossetti and really reinforce a lot of the common narratives, but they're well cited and full of detail, some cool close readings. Of course it has the limitation of only really focusing on the material present within the exhibition itself, which is still pretty comprehensive.

[Aurora Lion Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Pre-Raphaelite Painter