The Rossettis

Clever exhibition at Tate Britain looking at the work of the Rosettis, Dante Gabrielle, Christina and Elizabeth ne Siddal.

It was nice to see three protagonists given almost equal billing and to have poems presented like paintings on the walls with spots to stand on to hear them read. It was an excellent way to blend the visual arts and poetry. The show concentrated on their art more than their lives which was refreshing but to such an extent that I wasn't sure when in the narrative Gabrielle and Elizabeth married.

It was also good to see so much of Elizabeth's work. She seemed to work on quite a small scale and a lot of the work was not as fine as her husband's but she was very good at composing an image and I was amused to see that he photographed all her drawings when she died and continued to base work on them.

I was interested to see Gabriele's work divided into his work with the Pre-Raphaelites and the later aesthetic work with a beautiful room devoted to the poetic portraits.

My favourite room looked in detail at "The Beloved" and showed it with pencil studies for all the figures with details of their biographies. It was nice to have such an in depth look at one picture within a larger show.

Closes 24 September 2023


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