Dante Gabriel RossettiEnglish, 1828–1882The Blessed Damozel
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Blessed Damozel” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
The 'Blessed Damozel' was originally a poem by Rossetti about the yearning of a loved one in heaven. It was written in 1848 and first published in 1850 in the Pre-Raphaelite magazine The Germ, although frequently revised thereafter. In 1871 Rossetti was commissioned to create a visual version of the poem. This is the second of two sketches for the painting, which is in a private collection. The model was Alexa Wilding. She is clad like an angel in white but her appearance is nonetheless corporeal and sensuous. It is an excellent example of Rossetti's skill in handling chalks.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- E.262-1946
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
In the life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
The whole life1862–1882
A Tudor house at 16 Cheyne Walk
After his wife’s death Rossetti leased a Tudor house at 16 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, where he lived for twenty years surrounded by extravagant furnishings and a parade of exotic birds and animals.
1869–1874
Kelmscott Manor: a summer house and a retreat
In 1869 Morris and Rossetti rented Kelmscott Manor at Kelmscott, Oxfordshire, as a summer home, but it became a retreat for Rossetti and Jane Morris: they spent summers there with the Morrises’ children while William Morris travelled to Iceland in 1871 and 1873.
1874
Morris cuts Rossetti out of the firm
In 1874 Morris reorganised his decorative arts firm, cutting Rossetti out of the business, and the polite fiction that both men were in residence with Jane at Kelmscott could no longer be maintained.
July 1874
An abrupt departure from Kelmscott
In July 1874 Rossetti abruptly left Kelmscott and never returned.
after 1874
A recluse at Cheyne Walk
In time Rossetti’s way of life became withdrawn, and only his closest friends saw him; his late years are marked by an ever more morbid mood, abuse of alcohol and chloral hydrate, and a life as a recluse.
