The Boat of Love 1874

Dante Gabriel Rossetti made this painting, *The Boat of Love*, using oil on canvas. Note how the artist applied the oil paint in thin, translucent layers, or glazes. This was a technique favoured by the Pre-Raphaelites to achieve a luminous effect. The ethereal treatment of the pigment, particularly in the figures' robes, suggests a dreamlike or spiritual quality, and the monochrome palette lends the painting a sense of timelessness. The subtle modulation of light and shadow creates a soft, almost otherworldly atmosphere. Rossetti was deeply involved in the aesthetic and spiritual ideas of his time. The laborious glazing and layering of paint, typical of Pre-Raphaelite art, was a conscious rejection of industrialized modes of production. Instead, Rossetti aimed to evoke a sense of beauty and craftsmanship rooted in earlier, pre-industrial traditions. Paying attention to materials and how they are manipulated enables us to understand the full meaning of an artwork. In doing so, we can challenge conventional distinctions between art and craft.