''Beata Beatrix'' is a painting completed in several versions by

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...

artist

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

. The painting depicts

Beatrice Portinari Beatrice "Bice" di Folco Portinari (; 1265 – 8 or 19 June 1290) was an Italian woman who has been commonly identified as the principal inspiration for Dante Alighieri's '' Vita Nuova'', and is also identified with the Beatrice who acts as ...

from

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

's 1294 poem '' La Vita Nuova'' at the moment of her death. The first version is oil on canvas completed in 1870.

Painting

The painting's title in English translates to ''Blessed Beatrice''. ''La Vita Nuova'' had been a story that Rossetti had found of interest from childhood and he had begun work translating it into English in 1845 and published it in his work ''The Early Italian Poets''. Rossetti modeled Beatrice after his deceased wife and frequent model, Elizabeth Siddal, who died in 1862. The painting was created from the numerous drawings that Rossetti had made of Siddal during their time together. The symbolism in the painting of a red dove, a messenger of love, relates back to Rossetti's love for Siddal with the white poppy representing

laudanum Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum Linnaeus'') in alcohol (ethanol). R ...

and the means of her death. Several of Siddal's friends found the painting to bear little resemblance to the drawings of her—the facial features were harder and the neck is out of proportion. ''Beata Beatrix'' is one of Rossetti's most recognized works and has caused Siddal's name to be frequently linked with Dante Alighieri's Beatrice. In an 1873 letter to his friend

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

, Rossetti said he intended the painting "not as a representation of the incident of the death of Beatrice, but as an ideal of the subject, symbolized by a trance or sudden spiritual transfiguration." This first painting is on display in the

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

. It was a gift in memory of Francis, Baron Mount-Temple by his wife, Georgiana in 1889.

Renditions by Rossetti

Rossetti was commissioned by William Graham to paint for him a version of ''Beata Beatrix'', which Rossetti at first resisted. After stopping and starting the work, he grew to enjoy revisiting the theme, and altered the suffusion of light from the original, increasing background definition, and perhaps the idealization of the subject. This oil-on-canvas painting, dated 1871–1872, is in the main slightly larger than the original and adds a

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

(bottom panel) depicting Dante Alighieri and Beatrice meeting in paradise within a frame designed by Rossetti. Gifted by Charles L. Hutchinson in the 1920s, it is on display at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Several other renditions were made by Rossetti of ''Beata Beatrix''—a watercolor, a chalk drawing and another oil painting that was begun in 1877. The last painting was still unfinished at the time of his death. His lifelong friend,

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painti ...

, completed it. In this painting, in contrast to the original, the bird flying towards Beatrice is a white dove holding red poppies in its beak. This painting is in

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

, England. An 1880 oil on canvas version is in the

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections ...

Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_Beata_Beatrix_-_Compositional_Sketch

Notes

References

External links

The Rossetti Archive: ''Beata Beatrix'' The Art Institute of Chicago: ''Beata Beatrix'' with predella
{{Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Unfinished paintings Paintings about death 1870 paintings Paintings based on works by Dante Alighieri Pre-Raphaelite artworks Paintings in the National Galleries of Scotland Paintings in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago Birds in art Collection of the Tate galleries Bridges in art Works based on La Vita Nuova