Dante Gabriel Rossetti (b 12 May 1828, London - d 9 April 1882, Kent)     ante Gabriel Rossetti originated from the big family of painters and writes of Italian origin. His father, Gabriel Rossetti, emigrated from Italy and was a teacher of Italian in the Royal College in London, and the rest of the time he composed the comments to Dante. The mother, born Polidori, was well-educated too. The elder sister Maria Francesca wrote a book "The Shadow of Dante". The younger sister, Christine became the world-known poetess. The younger brother William Michael, was an outstanding critic and brother's biographer. Dante Gabriel, named in honor of the great Italian, was prominent poet and artist.     To the end of his life Dante Gabriel Rossetti remained to some extent an amateur in the field of painting. He didn't have an accomplished artistic education: since 1841 he had been studied in Henry Sass's Drawing Academy in Bloomsbury, and in 1846 he entered the class of Antique School in Royal Academy, but he didn't attend the model's class. He made an attempt to work under the leadership of Madox Brown. When he made his first "Pre-Raphaelitic" pictures, Holman Hunt trained him the oil painting technique. After the "Brotherhood's" foundation in 1848 Rossetti began to publish the journal "The Germ". And Pre-Raphaeliters could publish their opinions on arts and literature. His first work with letters "PRB" was "Girlhood of Mary Virgin"(1849, London, Tate Gallery). Rossetti showed it at the "Free Exhibition" at the corner of Hyde Park and he got the positive response in the competent journal "Athenaeum". More then others Rossetti's first picture reminded the Italian Quatrocento, which young artist admired. Next year Rossetti introduced "Ecce Ancilla Domini" (1850, London, Tate Gallery), which was full of symbols. It was an interesting attempt to build the picture using the symphony of white cold colors with the dissemination of colour.     When the scandal was broken out Rossetti turned to watercolours. He took subjects mainly from the medieval literature: "Dante Drawing an Angel on the First Anniversary of the Death of Beatrice"(1849, Birmingham, City Museum and Art Gallery), "Wedding of St.George and the Princess Sabra"(1857, London, Tate Gallery), "The Tune of the Seven Towers"(1857, London Tate Gallery) and etc. The only oil painting was "Found"(1854, Private coll.)     In January of 1855 Rossetti began to teach in Work college. In 1856 he met Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. It provoked the "second wave" of Pre-Raphaelitism and united three artists in the large-scaled work of Oxford United mural paintings.     At the end of 1860s Rossetti returned to the oil painting. In 1864 he created "Beata Beatrix" (London, Tate Gallery) - the posthumous portrait of his wife and muse Elizabeth Siddal. The picture betokened Rossetti's late style, when he began to content with an image of any woman plunged into deep anguished contemplation or thought: "Mariana" (1870, Aberdeen, City Art Gallery and Museum), "Veronica Veronese"(1872, Delaware, Art Museum), "Proserpine"(1874, London, Tate Gallery), "Manna Vanna"(1866. London, Tate Gallery) and etc.     Rosetti's work exerted influence to many English artists of the turn of the century. The numerous imitators and students can be compiled in so called "Rossetti's tradition", which is known in the history of arts under the name of "rossettism".