Dante Gabriel Rossetti

William Holman Hunt

Date: 1882-83 

Materials: Oil on wood panel

Breakfast at Millais's

On 12 April 1853, the remaining members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood met for breakfast in Millais's studio, to make portrait drawings of each other which could be sent to Thomas Woolner, who had emigrated to Australia six months before. Hunt's drawings, of Millais and Rossetti, are the finest of this series, most of which are in the National Portrait Gallery. His chalk drawing of Rossetti (now at Manchester City Art Gallery) had become badly rubbed by 1882, and Hunt painted this replica in oils to commemorate his friend's recent death. 

Italian features

In his autobiography, Hunt describes the young Rossetti's "southern" (i.e. Italian) features, with "grey eyes, looking directly only when arrested by external interest".  

It is likely that Rossetti was constantly looking up at Hunt from work on his reciprocal portrait drawing (now at Birmingham), which explains the slightly foreshortened angle of the head.