The Rossettis

TATE Britain Exhibition 6 April – 24 September 2023
A visually stunning book devoted to the radical Rossetti generation. The Rossettis’ approach to art, love and lifestyles are considered revolutionary. This is explored by a range of short thematic essays containing fresh, and surprising research, accompanied by beautiful and iconic Pre-Raphaelite illustrations. Featuring artworks and writings by Dante Gabriel, Christina and Elizabeth (née Siddal), the book distinguishes the Rossettis from Victorian culture and foregrounds their countercultural roles

The publication accompanies the first retrospective of Dante Gabriel Rossetti at Tate and the largest exhibition of his iconic pictures in two decades, and what will also be the most comprehensive exhibition of Elizabeth Siddal’s work for 30 years, featuring rare surviving watercolours and important drawings.

The Rossettis will take a fresh look at the fascinating myths surrounding the unconventional relationships between Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth and Jane Morris.

Author Biography

Carol Jacobi is Curator of British Art, 1850–1915 at Tate Britain.

James Finch is a curator and art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is currently Assistant Curator of nineteenth century British Art at Tate Britain where he most recently curated Sargent and Fashion. Other exhibitions and displays of historic and modern British art at Tate that James has worked on include (as co-curator) The Rossettis and Turner’s Modern World. Prior to joining Tate, James was Curatorial Assistant at the Royal Academy of Arts, and undertook his doctorate, as a partnership between the University of Kent and Tate. He has published widely on nineteenth and twentieth century art. Margaretta S. Frederick is the former Annette Woolard-Provine Curator of the Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art at Delaware Art Museum Jan Marsh is a writer, curator and specialist in the Pre-Raphaelite period Chiedza Mhondoro is Assistant Curator, British Art at Tate Britain, specialising in the British art of the eighteenth century and its social, cultural, political, economic and international contexts. Gursimran Oberoi is an associate teaching fellow at University of Surrey Wendy Parkins is Professor of Victorian Literature and the Director of the Centre for Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Kent Elizabeth Prettejohn is a writer, independent curator and Professor of History of Art at the University of York. Dinah Roe is Reader in Nineteenth Century Literature at Oxford Brookes University Glenda Youde is a writer and researcher based at the University of York.