Painting and poetry: a revolution

An immersive show of paintings, poems, drawings, and historic photographs reveals the unusual lives and work histories of three 19th-century artists. The Rossettis at Tate Britain in London is the largest presentation of Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 20 years and the largest in 30 years of his wife Elizabeth Rossetti, née Siddal. Unusual for an art exhibition is the high proportion of poetry by poet Christina Rossetti and her brother Dante, who was a painter as well as a poet. The unconventional show, which also focuses on the wayward lifestyles of these three artists, runs from April 6 to September 24.

The three Rossettis were associated with the Pre-Raphaelites; Dante Rossetti was even one of the founders of the movement that sought to revolutionize painting in England. They turned to medieval art, the time before Raphael, who was the undisputed model for academic painting in the 19th century. Although the movement lasted only a few years, it reverberated for a long time, pointing the way for the Symbolism and Art Nouveau that followed.