Dante Gabriel Rossetti Prints – Figures, Flowers & Literary Subjects
Dante Gabriel Rossetti prints place individual figures among flowers, books, fruit and richly coloured fabric. These small objects give each setting a particular focus while the turned head and hands connect the sitter to the surrounding space. Explore the collection alongside figurative art, mythological subjects and flower prints.
A figure within a dark vertical space
Proserpine holds the sitter close to the picture’s edge, with blue drapery falling in narrow folds and a fruit held near the chest. A small patch of daylight opens behind the head. The restrained background makes the face, hands and coloured fabric carry most of the composition.
A seated figure among the branches
The Day Dream places the green-clothed sitter within a leafy tree, holding a small flowering stem above an open book. The surrounding leaves echo the clothing’s deep colour. The upright trunk and folded body create a more enclosed arrangement than a straightforward portrait against a plain background.
A mirror within the flower-filled room
Lady Lilith shows a pale-clothed figure holding a small mirror beside long loose hair. Flowers, reflective surfaces and warm furnishings fill the space around her. The many surrounding details offer separate points of attention while the raised arm and mirror retain a clear focus within the arrangement.
Related artists and collections
Explore other narrative figures in John William Waterhouse, richly described encounters in John Everett Millais and imagined settings in John Collier. Further figurative prints develops the poses and gestures, while mythological art follows the collection’s literary and legendary subjects into other compositions.
Read more in our guide to Dante Gabriel Rossetti.