Dante Gabriel Rossetti Chronology

photo of DGRThis chronology of significant events in (and surrounding) the life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti is designed to support a critical edition of the first sonnet of DGR's The House of LIfe, "A sonnet is a moment's monument."

Timeline

Chronological table

Displaying 1 - 29 of 29
Date Event Created by Associated Places
17 Mar 1805

Kingdom of Italy founded

On 17 March 1805, the Kingdom of Italy is founded, with Napoleon Bonaparte as King. Image: The Iron Crown of Lombardy, from Cesare Cantù Grande illustrazione del Lombardo-Veneto ossia storia delle città, dei borghi, comuni, castelli, ecc. fino ai tempi moderni Milano, Corona e Caimi Editori, 1858. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

This crowning of Napoleon as King of Italy is a result of the French conquest of Italy. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy with the iron crown of Lombardy on 26 May 1805 (crown pictured above). His full title was "Emperor of the French and King of Italy."

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

Related Articles

Erik Simpson, "On Corinne, Or Italy"

Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
26 May 1805

Napoleon made king of Italy

On 26 May 1805, Napoleon crowns himself King of Italy in Milan Cathedral, with the iron crown of Lombardy. Image: The Iron Crown of Lombardy, from Cesare Cantù Grande illustrazione del Lombardo-Veneto ossia storia delle città, dei borghi, comuni, castelli, ecc. fino ai tempi moderni Milano, Corona e Caimi Editori, 1858. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

In a flamboyant and highly theatrical gesture, Napoleon Bonaparte signifies his political and military dominance over the Italian peninsula with a ceremony in Milan Cathedral, where he crowned himself King of Italy with the ancient, iconic iron crown of Lombardy. This crowning of Napoleon as King is a result of the French conquest of Italy. His full title was "Emperor of the French and King of Italy."

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

Related Articles

Erik Simpson, “On Corinne, Or Italy

David Rettenmaier
12 May 1828

Birth of Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Photo of DGR
Albumen print of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (7 October 1863)

On 12 May 1828, Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born as Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti. His parents were Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti, an Italian émigré scholar, and Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori (the sister of John William Polidori). Rossetti would go on to form the influential literary and artistic group, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Image: Portrait of Dante Gabriel Rossetti: albumen print. This photograph, from 7 October 1863, was reproduced as the frontispiece of: Rossetti, William Michael, Dante Gabriel Rossetti as Designer and Writer. London: Cassell and Company, 1898.

Dino Franco Felluga
1 Feb 1848

Tuscan uprising

Italy before unificationTuscan patriotic upraising against Austrian Duke (February 1848), which led to a short-lived constitution. Image: An image of non-unified Italy (1815-1870), William Shepherd, Historical Atlas (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1911). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

To supporters of Italian independence, the short-lived uprising in Tuscany, leading to a new constitution as well as freedom of the press and of religious practice, seemed to be the first step to overthrowing foreign rulers

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

Articles

Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
Sep 1848

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood founded

photo of DG RossettiIn September 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The brotherhood reacts, in part, against the use of bitumen, a transparent brown used for depicting exaggerated shadows, aiming instead to reproduce the sharp, brilliant colors found in fifteenth-century art. Image: Portrait of Dante Gabriel Rossetti: albumen print. This photograph, from 7 October 1863, was reproduced as the frontispiece of: Rossetti, William Michael, Dante Gabriel Rossetti as Designer and Writer. London: Cassell and Company, 1898.

Related Articles

Elizabeth Helsinger, “Lyric Poetry and the Event of Poems, 1870″

Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, “The Moxon Tennyson as Textual Event: 1857, Wood Engraving, and Visual Culture”

Morna O’Neill, “On Walter Crane and the Aims of Decorative Art”

Linda M. Shires, "On Color Theory, 1835: George Field’s Chromatography"

Linda M. Shires, “Color Theory—Charles Lock Eastlake’s 1840 Translation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colours)”

David Rettenmaier
9 Feb 1849 to Jul 1849

Roman Republic

Lithograph of Republic's ProclamationThe Roman Republic existed from 9 February 1849 to 3 July 1849. The Republic was established after Pope Pius IX fled to Gaeta to the protection of King Ferdinand II of Naples, following the assassination of the papal Minister of Justice. Image: Lithograph of 'Proclamazione delle Repubblica Romana', 1849 (published in 1861). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

Related Articles

Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

Erik Simpson, “On Corinne, Or Italy

David Rettenmaier
Dec 1849

Siddal "discovered" by Walter Deverell

Elizabeth Siddal Self-Portrait (c. 1853-54)
Elizabeth Siddal Self-Portrait (c. 1853-54)

In December 1849, Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Siddal was "discovered" by Walter Deverell, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, while she was working as a milliner in Cranbourne Alley, She went on to become a model for other Pre-Raphaelite artists and eventually married Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  London. Image: Elizabeth Siddal self-portrait. This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art.

Jerome McGann
Feb 1850

“The Blessed Damozel”

Blessed DamozelIn February 1850, publication of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “The Blessed Damozel.” Image: The Blessed Damozel, oil on canvas, Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard University. Completed c. 1871-78. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

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Jill Galvan, “Tennyson’s Ghosts: The Psychical Research Case of the Cross-Correspondences, 1901-c.1936″

David Rettenmaier
13 Jan 1851

Dante Gabriel Rossetti moves to 17 Red Lion Square

17 Red Lion Square, London
17 Red Lion Square, London

On 13 January 1851, Dante Gabriel Rossetti moved to 17 Red Lion Square with Walter Deverell. He lived there briefly until moving to 14 Chatham Place in November of 1852.  Image: Courtesy of The Victorian Web. 

Jerome McGann
Nov 1852

Dante Gabriel Rossetti moves to 14 Chatham Place

Painting by George Price Boyce of 14 Chatham Place (1866)
14 Chatham Place

In November of 1852, Dante Gabriel Rossetti moved to 14 Chatham Place, Blackfriar's.  Image, courtesy of the British Library, described on the BL website as follows: "Inscribed and dated: 'G. P. Boyce. April. 26. 1866' Verso of the mount. . . [,] a label on which is inscribed in Boyce's hand 'Backs of some old houses in Soho. . . , 14 Chatham Place, Blackfriars."

Dino Franco Felluga
Apr 1854

Rossetti family moves to Albany St.

In April 1854, the Rossetti family moved to 45 Upper Albany St. (now 166 Albany St.) in London. 

Dino Franco Felluga
26 Apr 1854

Death of Gabriele Rossetti

Gabriele Rossetti
Gabriele Rossetti

Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti (father of Dante Gabriel, Christina Georgina, William Michael and Maria Francesca Rossetti) died on 26 April 1854 at 45 Upper Albany St. (now 166 Albany St.).

Dino Franco Felluga
25 May 1857 to 25 Jun 1857

Pre-Raphaelite Art Exhibit

photo of DG RossettiPre-Raphaelite Art Exhibit, Russell Square, London, from 25 May to 25 June 1857. This was the first exhibition devoted solely to the work of the Pre-Raphaelites. Image: Portrait of Dante Gabriel Rossetti: albumen print. This photograph, from 7 October 1863, was reproduced as the frontispiece of: Rossetti, William Michael, Dante Gabriel Rossetti as Designer and Writer. London: Cassell and Company, 1898. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Related Articles

Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, “The Moxon Tennyson as Textual Event: 1857, Wood Engraving, and Visual Culture”

David Rettenmaier
24 Jun 1859

Battle of Solferino

Illustration of the Battle of SolferinoBattle of Solferino on 24 June 1859: On this date, the French defeat Austria at Solferino, forcing a full retreat of the Austrians from Lombardy in Northern Italy. Image: Luigi Norfini, Battaglia di San Martino (c. 1860s). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

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Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
1 Feb 1861

Italy is united

Portrait of Vittorio EmanueleOn February 1861, Vittorio Emanuele II of Piedmont is crowned king of Italy: Italy is formally united, with Turin as the capital city. Image: Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoia (c. 1840s-1850s), Museo nazionale del Risorgimento, Torino (author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

Related Articles

Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
11 Feb 1862

Death of Elizabeth Siddal

Elizabeth Siddal self-portrait
Elizabeth Siddal Self-Portrait (c. 1853-54)

Elizabeth Eleanor Rossetti (formerly Elizabeth Siddal) died of a laudanum overdose at 7:20 a.m. on 11 February 1862 at 14 Chatham Place. Image: Elizabeth Siddal self-portrait.  This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art.

Dino Franco Felluga
17 Feb 1862

Burial of Elizabeth Siddal

The Rossetti Family Grave
The Rossetti Family Grave, Highgate Western Cemetary

Elizabeth Eleanor Rossetti (formerly Elizabeth Siddal) was buried on 17 February 1862 in Highgate Western Cemetary in the Rossetti family plot. Dante Gabriel Rossetti placed "Dante at Verona," "Love's Nocturne" and other manuscript poems in her coffin before interment. Image: the Rossetti family grave where Elizabeth Siddal is buried (courtesy of The Victorian Web).

Dino Franco Felluga
24 Oct 1862

Dante Gabriel Rossetti moves to 16 Cheyne Walk

photo of 16 Cheyne Walk
16 Cheyne Walk, London

On 24 October 1862, Dante Gabriel Rossetti moved to 16 Cheyne Walk, London, where he lived for the next twenty years.  Image of 16 Cheyne Walk from Wikipedia Commons is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Dino Franco Felluga
14 Jun 1866 to 2 Aug 1866

Austro-Prussian War

Battle of Koniggratz, paintingAustro-Prussian War (also known as the Third Italian Independence War or the Seven Weeks’ War), was fought from 14 June 1866 to 23 August 1866, after which Italy gains Venice from Austria. Image: The Battle of Königgrätz, by Georg Bleibtreu. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

Related Articles

Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
10 Oct 1869

Exhumation of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's manuscripts

manuscript of "Praise and Prayer"
Manuscript of "Praise and Prayer" exhumed from Elizabeth Siddal's grave

On 10 October 1869, Dante Gabriel Rossetti had the manuscripts that he had previously buried with Elizabeth Siddal exhumed. Image: "Praise and Prayer" manuscript, one of three surviving leaves from the manuscripts Rossetti buried with his wife on 17 February 1862 in Highgate Cemetary. The original is in the Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. (MS Eng 769).

Jerome McGann
Apr 1870

Rossetti, Poems

photo of DG RossettiIn April 1870, Dante Gabriel Rossetti published his first volume of original poetry, marking the start of several decades of renewed lyric experimentation by younger poets like Algernon Charles Swinburne, William Morris, Christina Rossetti, George Meredith, and Gerard Manly Hopkins. Image: Portrait of Dante Gabriel Rossetti: albumen print, 7 October 1863. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Elizabeth Helsinger, “Lyric Poetry and the Event of Poems, 1870″

David Rettenmaier
19 Jul 1870 to 10 May 1871

Franco-Prussian War

Engraving from _Illustrated London News_The Franco-Prussian War was fought from 19 July 1870 to 10 May 1871. The war ended with the defeat of Napoleon III and the unification of Germany; Italy gained the Papal States and Rome became the capital of Italy. Image: Frederick Barnard, "Discussing the War in a Paris Café" - a scene from the brief interim between the Battle of Sedan and Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, published in The Illustrated London News, 17 September 1870. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

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Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
2 Oct 1870

Rome annexed to Italy

Plebiscite annexes Rome and Latium to the Kingdom of Italy, 2 October 1870. This event marks the final phase of the unification of Italy.

Articles

Alison Chapman, "On Il Risorgimento"

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Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

David Rettenmaier
1871 to 1873

Dark Blue journal run

Image from Dark BlueFrom March 1871 to March 1873, the journal, Dark Blue, was published monthly in Great Britain. Dark Blue (1871–73) was a monthly magazine, edited by Oxford undergraduate John Christian Freund, which folded two years after a brilliant debut. During its brief run, it brought together a stunning list of literary and artistic contributors, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, A. C. Swinburne, William Morris, Andrew Lang, Mathilde Blind, Sheridan Le Fanu, Simeon Solomon, and Ford Madox Brown, who produced aesthetically and sexually daring poetry, art, and criticism.

Articles

Anna Maria Jones, “On the Publication of Dark Blue, 1871-73″

David Rettenmaier
1875

Morris & Co. founded

photo of William MorrisIn Mar 1875, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company was dissolved and re-established as Morris and Company. Image: Photograph of William Morris, aged 53. First published 1899 (photo by Frederick Hollyer c. 1887). From Google Books edition of J. W. Mackail The Life of William Morris in two volumes, London, New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green and Co., 1899. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

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Ayla Lepine, “On the Founding of Watts & Co., 1874″

David Rettenmaier
27 Apr 1880

Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori Rossetti's 80th Birthday

Drawing in coloured chalk of Frances and Christina Rossetti in three-quarter profile.
Chalk Drawing by DGR of Frances and Christina Rossetti, 1877.

On April 27 1880 Frances Rossetti turned eighty. In honour of her birthday, Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) gave her a copy of David Main's Treasury of English Sonnets (1880). They personalized their gift by contributing a hand-written sonnet each. DGR designed his illuminated “A Sonnet is a moment’s monument” to fit the dimensions of the book and memorialized the moment of the gift in the lower left corner of the manuscript: "DG Rossetti pro Matre facit Apr: 27: 1880" (DG Rossetti made this for his Mother April 27 1880). While DGR’s sonnet was laid in to the front of the Treasury of English Sonnets, CGR placed her hand-written offering, “Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome…” at the back of the book. In this format, the Rossetti siblings' pair of sonnets effectively became the "Alpha and Omega" of this national collection, commenting on the long tradition of sonnets circulating in manuscript and print for private/public expressions of love, ambition, rivalry, and loss.

Lorraine Kooistra
16 Sep 1881

Publication of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Ballads and Sonnets

Binding of Ballads and Sonnets (1881)
Binding of Ballads and Sonnets (1881)

On 16 September 1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti published Ballads and Sonnets (London: Ellis and White, 1881) along with a new edition of his Poems. Originally Rossetti intended to publish only one book of his works in 1881, a revised and augmented edition of his 1870 Poems. (On the 1870 volume, see Elizabeth Helsinger, “Lyric Poetry and the Event of Poems, 1870.″) In working over his materials, however, Rossetti soon realized that he had more poems than could be accommodated to a single volume, so he devised the scheme that eventuated in the publication of Ballads and Sonnets and its companion, A New Edition (so identified on the title page) of PoemsBallads and Sonnets included an expanded set of poems with the title, "The House of Life," now prefaced with an "Introductory Sonnet" with the first line, "A Sonnet is a moment's monument." Image: courtesy of The Rossetti Archive.

Jerome McGann
9 Apr 1882

Death of Dante Gabriel Rossetti

All Saints' Church, Burchington-on-Sea, Kent, England

Dante Gabriel Rossetti died on 9 April 1882 (Easter Sunday) at Birchington-on-Sea, Kent, where he was also buried at All Saints' Church. Image: Birchington All Saints Church from the southwest (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license).

Dino Franco Felluga
circa. Winter 1882

Dante Gabriel Rossetti: A Record and a Study published

DGR’s illuminated sonnet was first published as the frontispiece to William Sharp’s biography of the poet-painter, brought out by Macmillan in the year of the poet’s death. In a letter to her brother William dated 26 July 1882, Christina Rossetti reported that their mother, Frances, had loaned “her cherished Main’s Sonnet book, giving him leave to have the ‘Sonnet’ drawing engraved for his book” (Letters of Christina Rossetti vol 3, p. 52).

Lorraine Kooistra