Beata Beatrix 1870

Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted ‘Beata Beatrix’ in the 1860s, using oil on canvas. Look closely, and you’ll see it is not smoothly finished, but textured. Rossetti built up many layers of paint, dragging the brush and scumbling the colors to create a dreamy effect. He aimed to evoke a spiritual experience. His technique really runs counter to the Victorian obsession with mass production. It prioritizes an intensely personal vision. Rossetti was not interested in pure illusionism. He wanted you to notice his hand in the work, perhaps to focus on the themes of mortality and transcendence. The rough application of the medium is a way of emphasizing the artist’s feeling, over and above his skill. In this way, ‘Beata Beatrix’ embraces the qualities of craft, challenging us to look beyond the image and appreciate the profound connection between the artist, the material, and the making process.