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Source Description
The youngest of four children in the artistic Rossetti family, Christina Rossetti lived on the periphery of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, occasionally modeling for her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and submitting her poetry to the brotherhood’s journal, <em>The Germ</em>. Before achieving acclaim as a poet with works such as <em>Goblin Market</em> and <em>Monna Innominata</em>, she briefly considered pursuing a career as an artist. This portrait of her brother William is one of her few surviving drawings. In the spare profile, the figure’s eyes are downcast, as though reading or in private reverie, perhaps in reference to William’s work as a man of letters.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
168765
label
Portrait of William Michael Rossetti
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
168765
contentType
drawing
title
Portrait of William Michael Rossetti
description
The youngest of four children in the artistic Rossetti family, Christina Rossetti lived on the periphery of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, occasionally modeling for her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and submitting her poetry to the brotherhood’s journal, <em>The Germ</em>. Before achieving acclaim as a poet with works such as <em>Goblin Market</em> and <em>Monna Innominata</em>, she briefly considered pursuing a career as an artist. This portrait of her brother William is one of her few surviving drawings. In the spare profile, the figure’s eyes are downcast, as though reading or in private reverie, perhaps in reference to William’s work as a man of letters.
date
c. 1853
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80075166
creators
60775
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 17.9 x 12.8 cm (7 1/16 x 5 1/16 in.)
cul
England, 19th century
accession
2010.462
Source extras
tec
graphite
tombstone
Portrait of William Michael Rossetti, c. 1853. Christina Georgina Rossetti (British, 1830–1894). Graphite; sheet: 17.9 x 12.8 cm (7 1/16 x 5 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2010.462
supportMaterials
description
ivory wove paper
collection
DR - British
inscriptions
inscription
signed and inscribed, in graphite, at lower left: CGR William
didYouKnow
Christina and William Rossetti shared a strong emotional bond. Employed as a civil servant, William provided financial stability that allowed Christina to pursue poetry.
citations
citation
Lemonedes, Heather. <em>British Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>Exh. Cat. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013.
page_number
pp. 98-99, 148, no. 33; Reproduced: p. 99
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:40:56.160000
sourceId
168765
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - British
med
graphite
creatorTags
female
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
1bcd3bc49f61a8c7