PAINTINGS BY DANTE GABRIEL ROSETTI

According to the Tate Gallery, "The damsel of the Sanct Grael (Holy Grail) is a minor character in Malory's Morte d'Arthur. However Rossetti included her in some designs illustrating the Grail quest, showing her offering the chalice to the knights, instead of Christ, as described by Malory. Rossetti's intention was probably to juxtapose her spiritual purity with the sinfulness of Queen Guinevere. Rossetti, like Tennyson, tended to emphasise the female characters of the Arthurian legend."

1857

1874