Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s oil painting on canvas, the Beloved, is a masterpiece first painted in 1865-66 and currently held at Tate Britain. The painting is inspired by the biblical Song of Solomon and illustrates two passages from it. The central focus of the painting is a bride removing her veil, emphasizing her centrality with strong color contrasts.
The Beloved features an excellent use of symbolism to convey its message. It depicts the Virgin Mary and lilies, which are believed to symbolize Mary’s purity. The painting emphasis on color contrast also signifies solemnness or indication between good and evil. One unique feature of this work is its medieval motifs that speak to Rossetti’s interests in medieval art revivalism.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Movement where this artwork belongs—his art characterized by sensuality alongside historical stories that inspire his paintings’ theme or subject matter. As an artist who excels in combining realism with symbolism, it makes sense that he chose a religious theme for his oil-on-canvas masterpiece—the Beloved.
Other Artwork from Dante Gabriel Rossetti

A Christmas Carol (1857-58) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Monna Vanna (1866) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The Wedding Of St. George And Princess Sabra (1857) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The Salutation of Beatrice (1859) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

A Vision Of Fiammetta (1878) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The Blessed Damozel (1875-78) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
More Artwork from Artchive

Thunderstorm at the foot of the mountain (c. 1830-31) by Katsushika Hokusai

Saints Liberius and Matthias (c. 1428) by Masaccio

Pazzi Madonna (c. 1417-18) by Donatello

Duchess of Alba DETAIL of shoes (1797) by Francisco Goya
Still Life with a Beer Mug (1921) by Fernand Leger

New Mexico Recollections No. 12 (1922-23) by Marsden Hartley

Between Clock and Bed, Edvard Munch (1940-1943)

Young Girl at the Piano – Overture to Tannhäuser (1869-70) by Paul Cezanne

Ulysses deriding Polyphemus – Homer’s Odyssey (1829) by Joseph Mallord William Turner

Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654) by Rembrandt van Rijn

The Side Show (1888) by Georges Seurat
