Wednesday 12 April 2023

The Rossettis: Romantic Revolutionaries of the Art World

One of the richly atmospheric works at the Rossetti exhibition: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Mona Vanna, (1866) copyright Tate. 

Enter the world of the Rossettis, a family of rebels who challenged Victorian society with their radical approaches to art, love, and life. Dante Gabriel, Christina, and Elizabeth were pioneers of the Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic movements. London's Tate Britain has a new exhibition of paintings and drawings of all three siblings, writes Isabella Lancellotti

The romanticism of Dante
Gabriel Rossetti's Proserpine, (1874).
Copyright: Tate
Tate Britain’s newest exhibition celebrates the revolutionary and avant-garde spirit of the Rossetti family. Dante Gabriel, Christina, and Elizabeth (née Siddal) were not just siblings but also artists who challenged the status quo of Victorian society. 

Their lives and works were marked by a progressive counterculture, blending past and present to reinvent art and life for a fast-changing modern world. 

Tate Britain showcases their creativity and innovation through over 150 paintings and drawings, photography, design, poetry, and more.

The exhibition begins with a celebration of the Rossetti siblings' precocious talent, revealing the early sparks of creativity that would mark their careers.

 Christina's first edition of poems, published when she was 16, and Dante Gabriel's Ecce Ancilla Domine (The Annunciation) 1850, are the opening pieces, surrounded by an audio installation of Christina's poetry and examples of Dante Gabriel's teenage drawings. These works reflect their early skill and enthusiasm for original voices like William Blake and Edgar Allan Poe.

As visitors move through the exhibition, they are taken on a journey of the Rossettis’ artistic evolution, from the Pre-Raphaelite years to the imaginative and expressive Aesthetic style. 

Their lives and works were marked by a progressive counterculture, blending past and present to reinvent art and life for a modern world. 

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, La Ghirlandata,
(1874). Copyright: Guildhall Art Gallery
Works from the Pre-Raphaelite years demonstrate how the spirit of popular revolution inspired these artists to initiate the first British avant-garde movement, rebelling against the Royal Academy's dominance over artistic style and content. 

More personal forms of revolution are explored through the Rossettis' refusal to abide by the constraints of Victorian society. Works such as Dante Gabriel's Found (begun 1854), Elizabeth Siddal's Lady Clare (1857), and Christina's poem The Goblin Market (1859) show how they questioned love in an unequal and materialist world.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is Elizabeth Siddal's surviving watercolours, displayed in a two-way dialogue with contemporary works by Dante Gabriel, exploring modern love in jewel-like medieval settings. 

As a working-class artist who was largely self-taught, Elizabeth's work was highly original and inventive, but has often been overshadowed by her mythologization as a tragic muse. Her and Dante Gabriel's work together mark the turning point from Pre-Raphaelitism to the imaginative and expressive Aesthetic style.

The exhibition also takes a fresh look at the unconventional relationships between Dante Gabriel, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, and Jane Morris. The Aesthetic portraits from the later part of Dante Gabriel's career, such as Bocca Baciata (1859), Beata Beatrix (c.1864-70), and The Beloved (1865-73), are shown in the context of the achievements and experiences of the working women who inspired them. 

Works from the Pre-Raphaelite years demonstrate how the spirit of popular revolution inspired these artists to initiate the first British avant-garde movement.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Venus Verticordia, 
(1878). Copyright: Private Collection 
The exhibition also explores how the poetic and artistic evolution of the femme fatale informed works such as Lady Lilith (1866-8) and Mona Vanna (1866).

Alongside art and poetry, visitors can experience how the Rossettis' trailblazing new lifestyles transformed the domestic interior through contemporary furniture, clothing, and design. 

The exhibition concludes by showing how the Rossettis inspired the next generation, including William Michael's teenaged children who ran the anarchist magazine The Torch, and how they continue to influence radical art and culture to this day.

This exhibition is not just a retrospective of the Rossetti family's work but also a celebration of their revolutionary approach to life, love, and art. It showcases the interconnectedness of their works, their influence on each other, and their legacy in the art world. The Rossettis were true visionaries, pushing the boundaries of art and society, and this exhibition evokes their creativity and innovation.

The Rossettis, 6 April – 24 September 2023, Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG.Open daily 10.00–18.00.


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