Description

This lavishly illustrated monograph, with its luxurious design and captivating text, follows Rossetti's life and art from his youth to his death, and brings to life a charming, extravagantly talented artist.

Composed of luscious reproductions, telling details, and graceful ornamentation, this was the first illustrated monograph devoted to the uniquely talented Dante Gabriel Rossetti. One of Victorian England's most flamboyant artists, Rossetti painted and wrote with equal passion. This ardor extended to his personal life, and often art and life intermingled as he immortalized his many loves in voluptuous and provocative images. The melodrama of Rossetti's life, darkened by rumors of suicide, adultery, and addiction, has often overshadowed his striking accomplishments as a painter. This evocative portrayal of his life and his art vividly captures the lush colors, elaborate narratives, and sheer magnetism of his canvases. It also provides a clear and candid account of the artist that carefully untangles fact from myth.

Chronicling Rossetti's career from his early achievements as a founder of the tremendously influential Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to the grandly unorthodox images of his final years, author Alicia Craig Faxon skillfully weaves in quotes from the artist and his contemporaries, bringing to life Rossetti's charisma and creativity. Family reminiscences from Rossetti's great-grandniece, Helen Guglielmini, provide an engaging complement to Dr. Faxon's astute scholarship.