Dante's Dream

Dante Dream is a painting done by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The painting is displayed in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Merseyside, England He used a technique that allowed him to use bright reflecting colours on this painting. He painted in a way that the images and the colours tell tales to the mind.

Dante’s Dream displays wild creative imagination. Dante opted to use watercolours on this painting unlike in previous works where he used oil paintings. His work is luminous in that he used bright colours. In the beginning of his career as a painter, he used colours to add a certain dramatic effect to his characters. In this famous painting, Dante tells a story about Beatrice’s death and what love does to him. Love comes to life in this painting in the form of a winged figure.

The winged figure, love, is accompanied by other symbols of love and death. An apple bosom which represents unconsummated love, Poppies which represent death and a man blossom which represents the time of Beatrice’s death. The painting depicts his love for Beatrice even in death. The symbols used in the painting, such as the colour green which depicts hope translates that Dante was still optimistic about love. He used white colour to show that the love he felt for Beatrice was real and pure.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti managed to leave behind other famous works. In the first works, he found favour working with oil paints. He used a light method in these paintings. They were influenced by an aura of control which he later gave up and embraced working with water colours. With these, he had room to explore his creativity and imagination. His first pieces of artwork were mainly influenced by the religious atmosphere at the time.

Three was much criticism about his methods of painting in the beginning. He used the oil colours to add details. His actions went contrary to the norm at the time since most of his works involved holy figures. He added a dramatic effect to them. Even in death, Dante’s work continues to thrive and form interesting discussions for art lovers. He opened doors to a world where imagination is embraced and appreciated. He used his paintings to tell his life stories.