Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882) British painter and poet

Rossetti sofa designed and painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Rossetti sofa designed and painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a British painter and poet. He was born in London. 

Education

He studied drawing with Cotman and, in 1848, with Holman Hunt. 

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

In 1848, Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Rossetti founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In 1850 with William Morris, he painted frescoes for the Oxford Union debating hall. Morris, G.F. Watts, Edward Burne-Jones, and John Ruskin began supporting the Pre-Raphaelites in 1851 and later became members. 

Devil and Damned Soul Descending by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Devil and Damned Soul Descending by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

In the 1860s, Rossetti, like his friend James Abbot McNeill Whistler, began to collect Chinese porcelain and Japanese woodcuts. Profoundly affected by the death of his wife Elizabeth Siddal in 1862, Rossetti became more and more eccentric and ceased painting in 1877. He published Poems (1870) and his last work, Ballads and Sonnets (1881). 

Frontispiece for Goblin Market (Christina Rossetti), 1862 British
Frontispiece for Goblin Market (Christina Rossetti), 1862 British

Encouraged in the early years by Hunt and Morris, he became involved in the applied arts. Rossetti designed furniture and stained glass and, primarily through his graphic design, was influential on the continent and in the USA. 

The Fight between Tristram and Sir Marhaus stained glass designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
The Fight between Tristram and Sir Marhaus stained glass designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Rossetti was involved in the formation of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, the Arts and Crafts decorating firm founded by William Morris and others, and contributed designs. 

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Bruce J. Talbert (1838-1881) British architect and designer – Encyclopedia of Design

Bruce J. Talbert (1838-1881) was a British architect and designer. He was born in Dundee, Scotland. He was apprenticed to cabinet-carver Millar and subsequently to Charles Edwards, an architect in Dundee, who worked on the Corn Exchange Hall. In 1856, he settled in Glasgow, working in W.H. Tait and Cambell Douglas’s architecture office.

William Morris – beauty of practicality – Encyclopedia of Design

Born March 24, 1834 “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or beautiful.” That was the rallying call of the nineteenth-century designer, William Morris, a British designer and social reformer. He aimed to rid the world of shoddy mass-produced goods and replace them with objects that were designed and made by artists.

More on British Designers

  • Daniel Cottier: A Pioneer in Stained Glass Design and Art Trading

    Daniel Cottier: A Pioneer in Stained Glass Design and Art Trading

    Daniel Cottier: Pioneering stained glass artist and entrepreneur who revolutionized the craft in the 19th century. His innovative designs, collaborations with architects, and entrepreneurial spirit laid the foundation for modern stained glass. Learn about his legacy, preservation efforts, and the ongoing appreciation of his remarkable works.Read More →

  • Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) British painter, decorative glass designer and writer

    Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) British painter, decorative glass designer and writer

    Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) was a painter, decorative glass designer, and writer from the United Kingdom. He was born in the city of London.Read More →

  • OMK Design and Rodney Kinsman RDI

    OMK Design and Rodney Kinsman RDI

    OMK Design is a British design group. It was established in 1966 by Rodney Kinsman, Jerzy Olejnik, Bryan Morrison. They all trained at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. The group produced its furniture, including its 1969 T5 chair.Read More →

  • Eclipse Minimalist Lighting from Lee Broom

    Eclipse Minimalist Lighting from Lee Broom

    Eclipse Minimalist Lighting from Lee Broom. One of four new lighting collections to be launched during Salone del Mobile (2018). Read MORERead More →

  • Georgina von Etzdorf: A British Design Icon

    Georgina von Etzdorf: A British Design Icon

    Georgina von Etzdorf is a British designer known for her exclusive prints in various media, specializing in textile, fashion, furniture, and product design. Her career took off in the 1980s, from printing designs in her parents’ garage to establishing a shop in London’s prestigious Burlington Arcade. Von Etzdorf’s training in traditional craft techniques and her…

  • Rachel Heritage (b.1958), British Industrial Designer

    Rachel Heritage (b.1958), British Industrial Designer

    Rachel Heritage is a British industrial designer known for her work in furniture and lighting design. Born in 1958 in London, she studied furniture design at Kingston Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. In 1985, she co-founded Heritage Design in London with her brother Paul Heritage. Rachel has showcased her designs at exhibitions in…

  • Hans Coper: Revitalising Ceramic Art in England

    Hans Coper: Revitalising Ceramic Art in England

    Explore the life and artistic contributions of Hans Coper, the British ceramicist who played a pivotal role in renewing ceramic art in England. Discover his unique style, international exhibitions, and lasting impact on the field, inspiring a new generation of ceramic artists.Read More →

  • Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) Russian-British Modernist Designer

    Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) Russian-British Modernist Designer

    Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) was a Russian-British modernist designer. He was a Russian emigre who came to London via the October Revolution of 1917. Read More →

  • British Art Pottery Manufacturer – Moorcroft

    British Art Pottery Manufacturer – Moorcroft

    William Moorcroft started Moorcroft, a British art pottery manufacturer, in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in 1913.Read More →

  • Geoffrey Harcourt (b.1935) British Furniture Designer

    Geoffrey Harcourt (b.1935) British Furniture Designer

    Between 1960-61, he worked at Latham, Tyler and Jensen, Chicago, and with Jacob Jensen in Copenhagen; in 1961, opened his studio in London, specialising in furniture design; from 1962; began designing seating for Artifort, the Netherlands, who produced more than 20 models of his furniture designsRead More →

  • Neville Brody (b.1957) British Art Director

    Neville Brody (b.1957) British Art Director

    Neville Brody rose to prominence during the early 1980s surge of “designerism”: a period when the British economy was considered to be expanding, marketing, promotion, and “cultural entrepreneurship” were in the air, and young culture was a money-spinner.Read More →

  • Robert Radford Welch: A Visionary British Product Designer and Silversmith

    Robert Radford Welch: A Visionary British Product Designer and Silversmith

    Robert Radford Welch was a British product designer and silversmith known for his innovative stainless-steel designs. His career began with studies in painting and silversmithing, culminating in specialized training at the Royal College of Art. Welch established his own workshop in Chipping Campden, where he continued the tradition of the Arts and Crafts movement. Influenced…

  • British Designer Jack Pritchard (1899 – 1992): A Profile

    British Designer Jack Pritchard (1899 – 1992): A Profile

    Jack Pritchard was one of the most prominent designers in Britain during the 20th century, creating iconic pieces like the bentwood dining table and the Penguin Donkey that can be found in top museums around the world today. Find out more about Jack Pritchard’s life and career by reading this profile of one of Britain’s…

  • John Adams (1882 – 1953) British Ceramicist and Designer

    John Adams (1882 – 1953) British Ceramicist and Designer

    British Ceramicist John Adams (1882 – 1953) was a British ceramicist and Designer. He was professionally active in London, Durban,Read More →

  • British Ceramics, 1675-1825: The Mint Museum (Hardcover)

    British Ceramics, 1675-1825: The Mint Museum (Hardcover)

    With over two thousand objects, the Mint Museum’s collection of British ceramics is one of the best and most extensive in the United States. It includes items from all major manufacturing centres, including Wedgwood, Chelsea, Worcester, and Staffordshire. Read More →

  • Gertrude Hermes (1902 – 1983) British Illustrator, Sculptor & Designer

    Gertrude Hermes (1902 – 1983) British Illustrator, Sculptor & Designer

    Gertrude Anna Bertha Hermes was born in Bickley, Kent, on August 18, 1901. Louis August Hermes and Helene, née Gerdes, were from Altena, Germany, near Dortmund. She attended the Beckenham School of Art in around 1921. She then enrolled in Leon Underwood’s Brook Green School of Painting and Sculpture in 1922, where she met Eileen…

  • Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880 – 1942) British Ceramicist

    Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880 – 1942) British Ceramicist

    Frederick Hurten Rhead was an English-born American potter and ceramic artist. He was born into a family of potters and designers. He received his English pottery training before moving to the United States in 1902. Read More →

  • Josiah Wedgwood British Ceramics Manufacturer

    Josiah Wedgwood British Ceramics Manufacturer

    He started by producing basic tableware, but by 1759, he had expanded to include beautiful items like classical vases and portrait busts. He was one of the first producers to hire artists to create product designs.Read More →

  • Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 1898) – the dandy of the grotesque

    Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 1898) – the dandy of the grotesque

    The impact of Beardsley, considered the greatest illustrator of the Art Noveau period, is due solely to his erotic imagination and marvellous control of line drawing.Read More →

  • Bernard Instone: Master Silversmith and Enameller (1891-1987)

    Bernard Instone: Master Silversmith and Enameller (1891-1987)

    British silversmith Bernard Instone, born in 1891, revolutionized jewelry design with his enameled silver work, blending traditional techniques with individual creativity. His legacy continues to inspire artisans today.Read More →

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.