A Vision of Fiammetta, 1878

© 2025 McGaw Graphics, Inc. About the ArtistDante Gabriel Rossetti was an eccentric painter, poet, illustrator and leading spirit in the formation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the spring of 1848 with other English painters William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. Rossetti's romantic narrative paintings, many with accompanying poetry, harken to the idealism of the Middle Ages as imagined in the mid- 19th century. Rossetti rebelled against tradition and academic training after being educated at Sass's School and the Royal Academy, which had become a self-perpetuating institution whose members served on juries for all exhibitions and membership was selected from successful exhibitors. Royal Academy exhibitions were also the major sales outlet mid-century and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood reacted as much against the institution as the style of painting it produced, profoundly impacting the nature of exhibits and sales thereafter. Although Rossetti is one of the most celeb