Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Artist: D Brucciani & Co
- Date: 1882
- Medium: plaster
- Dimensions: 12 in. x 5 7/8 in. (305 mm x 150 mm) overall
- Portrays: Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
Before you is a small plaster cast head from 1882, made by the studio of D Brucciani & Co. The model includes a death mask, so the exact contours of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s face are recorded after his passing. The piece measures about twelve inches tall and just over five inches wide, letting you see every curve in relief.
Rossetti was born in 1828 and died the same year he painted this cast. He worked as a painter and poet and produced nearly thirty portraits during his life. In his own words he wrote: “if I die suddenly at any moment… let no cast be taken on any account of my face or head.” Yet after his death his brother William had moulds made to preserve the artist’s likeness, following a common practice for notable men of the time.
The National Portrait Gallery received this cast from Alice M. Chambers in 1913, and it remains part of its primary collection.
See it in person
Dante Gabriel Rossetti is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
