Pre-Raphaelite beauty stars in first public display at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 - 1882), "The Salutation of Beatrice", 1881-2, oil on canvas. Private collection, Great Britain © Walker Art Gallery 2016
LIVERPOOL.- 135 years after it was painted, a little known Pre-Raphaelite treasure goes on public display for the first time in Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion, which runs at the Walker Art Gallery from 12 February to 5 June 2016.
The Salutation of Beatrice (1881/2) by Dante Gabrielle Rossetti represents a familiar theme to the artist. His muse Jane Morris is cast as Beatrice Portinari, the subject of medieval poet Dante Alighieri’s unrequited love. The figure of Beatrice dominates the foreground with her beguiling expression and the trademark of Pre-Raphaelite beauty, an abundance of tumbling auburn locks.
Over Beatrice’s shoulder the forlorn Dante can be seen comforted under Love’s wings and beyond, the arches of medieval Italy.
The painting illustrates the lines from the second sonnet in Dante’s Vita Nuova (New Life) and lines from the poem can be found on the frame.
The fascinating oil paintings belonged to Rossetti’s friend and major patron Frederick Leyland, a Liverpool-born ship owner and art collector. It is accompanied by Monna Rosa (1867) a portrait of Leyland’s wife, which has not been on public display for more than 140 years and a coloured chalk portrait by Rossetti of Leyland (made in 1870) which has also never been previously exhibited.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 - 1882), "Monna Rosa", 1867, oil on canvas. Private collection, Great Britain © Walker Art Gallery 2016
All three works, still in the possession of Leyland’s descendants, will be displayed together for the first time at the Walker and underpin a major theme of the exhibition, an exploration of the roles of the collectors to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Alongside Leyland, collectors such as John Miller and George and Julia Rae enabled these revolutionary painters to change the face of British art in the 19thcentury.
Ann Bukantas, Head of Fine Art at National Museums Liverpool, said: “The Salutation of Beatrice is a significant addition to the exhibition. For an art movement as enduringly popular as the Pre-Raphaelites it is rare to uncover paintings such as this which are not well documented.
“In subject matter and style it is typical of Rossetti and we know our visitors will relish the chance to get a close look at the painting for the first time.
“We are thrilled to be showing these three works together for the first time. As arguably Rossetti’s most significant patron, this focus on work Leyland commissioned and bought helps us understand the dynamics of their relationship.”
National Museums Liverpool is grateful to Guy Schwinge of Duke’s Auctioneers for his role in securing these exciting loans.
Arthur Hughes, "In the Grass", about 1864–5. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1865 © Museums Sheffield
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, "Monna Vanna", 1866. Owned by William Blackmore, then George Rae © Tate, London
Ford Madox Brown, "The Coat of Many Colours (Jacob and Joseph’s Coat)", 1866. Commissioned by George Rae in 1864 © Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
William Lindsay Windus, "Burd Helen", 1856. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1864 © Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Liverpool
Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893), "Walton-on-the-Naze", 1860. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1860 © Birmingham Museums Trust
Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893), "Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet", 1852–6. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1856 © Tate, London
Ford Madox Brown (1821–93), "The First Translation of the Bible into English: Wycliffe reading his translation of the New Testament to his protector, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, in presence of Chaucer and Gower, his retainers", 1847–8. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1848 © Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, West Yorkshire, UK / Bridgeman Images
William Dyce (1806–64), "Man of Sorrows", about 1860. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1861. Purchased with the aid of the National Heritage Purchase Grant, (Scotland) 1981 © Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.
Edward Burne-Jones, "Venus Discordia", 1873. Owned by Frederick Leyland © Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 - 1882), The Blessed Damozel, about 1875-79. Purchased by William Hesketh Lever in 1922. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion features more than 120 paintings by leading Pre-Raphaelite artists.
National Museums Liverpool has worked with one of the world’s leading Pre-Raphaelite experts, Christopher Newall, to produce an exhibition which reveals, through some of the most enduring and popular works of the period, how the northern art scene rivalled London in Victorian England.
William Holman Hunt (1827 - 1910), The Scapegoat, 1854-5. Purchased by William Hesketh Lever in 1923. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
John Ingle Lee (1839 - 1882), "Going to Market", June 1860. Bequeathed to the Walker Art Gallery by John Elliot in 1917. WAG 601. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
Daniel Alexander Williamson (1823 - 1903), "Morecambe Bay from Warton Crage", 1862. Presented to the Walker Art Gallery by James Smith of Blundellsands in 1923. WAG 781. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
Daniel Alexander Williamson (1823 - 1903), "Spring, Arnside Knot from Warton Crag", around 1863. Presented to the Walker Art Gallery by James Smith of Blundellsands in 1923. WAG 784. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
James Campbell (1823 - 1893), "Waiting for Legal Advice", 1857. Presented to the Walker Art Gallery by Bancroft Cooke 1893. WAG 1293. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
John Brett (1831 - 1902), "The Stonebreaker", painted in 1857-58. Bequeathed to the Walker Art Gallery by Mrs Sarah Ann Barrow in 1918. WAG 1632. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
John Everett Millais (1829 - 1896), "Isabella", 1849. Purchased by the Walker Art Gallery in 1884. WAG 1637. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
James Campbell (1823 - 1893), "Girl with Jug of Ale and Pipes", 1856. Purchased by the Walker Art Gallery in 1967. WAG 6353. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
Ford Madox Brown (1821–93), "The English Boy", 1860. Exhibited at the Liverpool Academy in 1860 © Manchester City Galleries
James Campbell (1823 - 1893), "The Dragon's Den", first exhibited in 1854. Purchased by the Walker Art Gallery in 1980. WAG 9742. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
John Ingle Lee (1839 - 1882), "Sweethearts and Wives", 1860. Purchased by the Walker Art Gallery with the assistance of the Art Fund, the V & A Purchase Grant Fund, the Friends of Merseyside County Museums & Art Galleries and private donations in 1981. WAG 9755. Walker Art Gallery. © Walker Art Gallery 2016
The Salutation of Beatrice (1881/2) by Dante Gabrielle Rossetti represents a familiar theme to the artist. © Gareth Jones.
Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. © Colin Lane
Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. © Colin Lane
Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. © Colin Lane
Pre-Raphaelites: Beauty and Rebellion Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. © Colin Lane