Rossetti, Dante Gabriel (1828-1882)
Dantis Amor (Dante’s Love)
1860
Oil on mahogany, 74.9 x 81.3 cm
Tate Britain, London
«L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.» (Love that moves the sun and the other stars). Dante, Paradiso, XXXIII, v. 145.
This was one of three panels painted by Rossetti to decorate the upper part of a settle belonging to William Morris. The subject for all three was Dante’s La Vita Nuova which Rossetti translated for his own publication, The Early Italian Poets 1861. Rossetti was fascinated by Dante’s story and saw in it a parallel with his own love for Elizabeth Siddall. Dantis Amor (Dante’s Love) is the central panel, symbolising Beatrice’s death, which occurred between the events depicted in the other two panels, The Salutation of Beatrice in Florence and The Salutation in the Garden of Eden. (Tate)
See also:
• Alighieri, Dante (1265-1321) | Portinari, Beatrice (c.1266-1290) | Siddal, Elizabeth (1829-1862)