One of Victorian England's most charismatic characters, Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted and wrote with equal passion. He was similarly passionate in his personal life — his ethereal artist-wife, his earthy blond mistress, and the ravishing Jane Morris are all immortalized in his voluptuous images.

The melodrama of Rossetti's life, darkened by rumors of suicide, adultery, and addiction, has often overshadowed his striking accomplishments as a painter. The lush hues and elaborate imagery of his romantic canvases are captured by the 265 illustrations in this book, while the astute text provides — at long last — a clear and candid account of the artist that carefully untangles fact from myth. Reminiscences from the artist's great-grandniece Helen Guglielmini provide an engaging glimpse of life with the Rossettis.

Rossetti's career is chronicled from his early achievements as a founder of the tremendously influential Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, through his involvement with the revolutionary William Morris design firm, to the grandly unorthodox images of his final years.

Skillfully weaving in quotes from the artist and his contemporaries, Dr. Alicia Craig Faxon brings to life a charming, contradictory man. Sometimes delightful, sometimes infuriating, Rossetti was as apt to scribble a witty limerick or dash off a jokey caricature as he was to brood over a medieval fantasy or heartsick sonnet.

Rossetti's prodigious art encompassed the meticulously detailed canvases of his early years, the jewel-like brilliance of his medieval tableaux, and the sensuously alluring women of his late paintings. He plundered the past for his painted and poetic images — especially favoring the tales of Dante and the romantic adventures of King Arthur — but his art was always uniquely his own, instantly recognizable and unforgettable.

Beautifully designed with luscious reproductions, telling details, and graceful ornamentation, this is the first lavishly illustrated monograph devoted to this extravagantly talented artist. It was well worth waiting for.

Dr. Alicia Craig Faxon is Professor of Art History, Emerita, from Simmons College, Boston, where she also served as Chair of the Department of Art and Music and was holder of the Alumnae Chair in the Humanities. She received a BA in history from Vassar, an MA in history from Radcliffe, and an MA and PhD in art history from Boston University. She has published numerous articles on Rossetti and several catalogs on far-ranging topics in 19th and 20th century art.

Author — Dr. Alicia Craig Faxon.

Hardcover with cloth binding. 256 pages. 11" × 13" (28 cm × 33 cm).