Beata Beatrix

Beata Beatrix, just as with Proserpine, was a theme covered by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in several different artworks. The version displayed here is amongst his most famous paintings.

Poetry was as significant as painting in Rossetti's life. He both studied it in-depth but also wrote many poems himself. It was Dante Alighieri's poem La Vita Nuova that inspired this painting that was finished in 1870. The character Beatrice Portinari is the subject of this piece and Rossetti translated this passage into English as part of his regular translation work. It is now a part of the collection of the Tate Britain in London, who display it alongside several other original artworks by the Pre-Raphaelites. Another version can be found in the Art Institute of Chicago.

When working on multiple versions of the same theme, Rossetti would make use of different mediums and then compare the results to see what best suited the subject. Chalk drawings were common, as were watercolours. Certain women would dominate his thoughts and create obsessive thoughts that would then lead to influences on his work. Romance was a key part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement artwork and in this artist's case would even connect to his own life. Beata Beatrix, the title of this painting, translates as Blessed Beatrice - the artist was fluent in both Italian and English, regularly translating his favourite Italian literature into the native language of his country of birth.