Overview

Dante Gabriel Rossetti is the most intriguing and flamboyant figure in nineteenth-century British art. He inspired the first Pre-Raphaelite generation of 1849 and the second generation ten years later and both brought about significant changes in British art. His poetry, too, acted as a stimulus to many writers at the end of the century, who saw in his subtle manipulation of the sonnet and the ballad forms ways of giving expression to issues that were peculiar to the that century. Dominant among those issues was that of sexual desire, for Rossetti, more than any other artist in this period, struggled with the contradictions of sexuality. When he died in 1882 people knew of him as the painter of alluring women with exotic names - Lilith, Monna Vanna, Fiammetta - and the writer of subtly erotic verse. He projected onto women his anxieties, his pleasures and his needs. He also mythologized them, so that Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Jane Morris and others became for him Beatrice, Guenevere, and Isolde. In doing so he shaped them, he changed the direction of their lives, and in some cases he both made and destroyed them. This richly illustrated book, by tracing the development of Rossetti's painting and poetry in the context of the drama of his life, follows this powerful thread. Sometimes sensual, at others spiritual, Rossetti's mission was to transcend the Manichean division that separated body and soul and, through the visionary power of art, reconcile what he saw as elements fundamental to human experience.

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9780711232259

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Reviews

A lucid, compelling and elegant account of the life of one of our great artists, encased in a beautiful silky-paged volume stuffed with luxuriant colour reproductions. A must for any art lover. Rocks Back Pages Bullen writes attractively and accessibly and draws on a copious knowledge of the art and literatire of the period as well as the socialm moral and religious debates that informed the contemporary reactions to his work. The book is well designed and fully illustrated. Cassone Bullen is a remarkably good writer. Spectator It is clear from the tone of Bullen's text how much he admires his subject. Art Quarterly In his handsome, profusely illustrated book, J.B. Bullen gives Rossetti's poetry as much attention as his pictures and, in his work as well as his life, finds erotic obsession and a debilitating struggle to reconcile sensual with spiritual passion. Country Life A richly illustrated and an enjoyable, fluent read, revealing poignantly Rossetti's mission to transcend the division between body and soul and, through the visionary power of art, reconcile what he saw as elements fundamental to human experience. This is an important new contribution to Rossetti scholarship. Good Book Guide Of particular interest to those interested in 19th century British art and literature...highly recommended. CHOICE

A richly illustrated and an enjoyable, fluent read, revealing poignantly Rossetti's mission to transcend the division between body and soul and, through the visionary power of art, reconcile what he saw as elements fundamental to human experience. This is an important new contribution to Rossetti scholarship. Good Book Guide Of particular interest to those interested in 19th century British art and literature...highly recommended. CHOICE Although the book devotes much attention to biographical narrative, its real originality lies not in the treatment of the life, but in the account of the transmutation of the life into art Burlington Magazine

A lucid, compelling and elegant account of the life of one of our great artists, encased in a beautiful silky-paged volume stuffed with luxuriant colour reproductions. A must for any art lover. Rocks Back Pages Bullen writes attractively and accessibly and draws on a copious knowledge of the art and literatire of the period as well as the socialm moral and religious debates that informed the contemporary reactions to his work. The book is well designed and fully illustrated. Cassone Bullen is a remarkably good writer. Spectator It is clear from the tone of Bullen's text how much he admires his subject. Art Quarterly In his handsome, profusely illustrated book, J.B. Bullen gives Rossetti's poetry as much attention as his pictures and, in his work as well as his life, finds erotic obsession and a debilitating struggle to reconcile sensual with spiritual passion. Country Life A richly illustrated and an enjoyable, fluent read, revealing poignantly Rossetti's mission to transcend the division between body and soul and, through the visionary power of art, reconcile what he saw as elements fundamental to human experience. This is an important new contribution to Rossetti scholarship. Good Book Guide Of particular interest to those interested in 19th century British art and literature...highly recommended. CHOICE Although the book devotes much attention to biographical narrative, its real originality lies not in the treatment of the life, but in the account of the transmutation of the life into art Burlington Magazine

A richly illustrated and an enjoyable, fluent read, revealing poignantly Rossetti's mission to transcend the division between body and soul and, through the visionary power of art, reconcile what he saw as elements fundamental to human experience. This is an important new contribution to Rossetti scholarship. Good Book Guide Of particular interest to those interested in 19th century British art and literature...highly recommended. CHOICE

Author Information

J. B. BULLEN holds the Chair of English Literature and Culture in the Department of English Literature, Royal Holloway, University of London. He is also Professor Emeritus of the University of Reading where he lectured on English Literature and Art History for over twenty-five years. He is the author of many books and articles including, for Frances Lincoln, Rossetti (9780711232259).

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