*THREAD*
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, born on this day in London in 1838

A poet & painter, Rossetti was a co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Rossetti did not have natural technical artistic talent, however he clearly revealed his intense, imaginative power

He met his wife Elizabeth "Lizzie" Siddal when she was modelling for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1849

In almost all of his paintings in the 1850's, he exclusively used Lizzie as his model

She'd been discovered in a hat shop & was considered the epitome of feminine beauty

She eventually modelled exclusively for Rossetti, becoming the subject and inspiration of several of his most well-known paintings

After they were married in 1860, Siddal began to study painting with Rossetti. She was an accomplished painter herself

Even though he was remembered as a painter, he was first and foremost a poet

"When vain desire ar last and vain regret
Go hand in hand to death

And all is vain
What shall assuage the unforgettable pain

And teach the unforgetful to forget?"

His relationship with Siddal was loving and tumultuous

He was so deeply devoted to her, he buried his only copy containing all of his poems with her when she died in 1862 due to an overdose of laudanum

Later in life, he had her body exhumed in order to retrieve the manuscript

The painting Beata Beatrix depicts Beatrice Portinari at the moment of her death.

The model is Elizabeth Siddal who he affectionately called "The dove" & this is a reference to her death.

Dante, a shadowy figure in the background, holding the flickering flame of life

The red dove (love) is seen bringing the opium poppy in its beak to depict Elizabeth Siddal taking her own life with an overdose of laudanum.

The sundial casting its shadow at 9 o clock to show the time of Beatrice's death. 9 o clock on 9th June

After Siddal died, Rosetti lived for 20 years in Cheyne's Walk, Chelsea where he surrounded himself with a menagerie that included wombats, his favourite animal, a llama and a toucan.

He trained the toucan to ride the llama around the dining table whilst wearing a cowboy hat

Dante Rosetti died a broken man plagued by depression, addiction and illness on the 9th April 1882

19th century art wouldn't have been what is was without his influence