For a Venetian Pastoral, by Giorgione (in the Louvre) (WMR corrected copy) DGR 1 By permission of the South African National Gallery For a Venetian Pastoral, by Giorgione, in the Louvre. Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1849 corrected fair copy 1 small leaf WMR WMR South African National Gallery cream laid paper 7 x 4 1/2 in. Commentary
Introduction

This copy of the sonnet is one of six made by WMR for a book he contemplated, to be titled <hi rend="i">Dicta of Artists</hi> , “Being Remarks by Various British Artists and Other Artists on Matters of Art”. He compiled the materials sometime after the turn of the century. The section of the book devoted to DGR's comments on art included this sonnet plus five other of DGR's “Sonnets for Pictures”, including “For an Allegorical Dance of Women, by Andrea Mantegna, in the Louvre” , “For a Virgin and Child, by Hans Memmling, in the Academy of Bruges” , “For a Marriage of St. Katharine, by the same (Hans Memmeling)” , and the pair of sonnets “For Ruggiero and Angelica, by Ingres” . The projected book, with these sonnets, is preserved in the library of the National Museum of South Africa.

This copy is notable because WMR's text represents both the early (1849) version of the sonnet as well as the revised version of 1869.

Textual History: Composition

Textual History: Revision

Production History

Reception History

Iconographic

Printing History

Pictorial

Historical

Literary

Translation

Autobiographical

Bibliographic

474 In the upper right corner, the page number of WMR's projected volume. Rossetti WMR's pencil note in the upper left corner <add>For</add> A Venetian Pastoral, by Giorgione, <lb/>in the Louvre. Water, for anguish of the solstice,—yea nay, Over the vessel's mouth still widening, But dip the vessel slowly,—nay, but lean Listlessly dipt to let the water And hark how at its verge the wave sighs in With slow vague gurgle. Blue & deep Reluctant. Hush! beyond all depth away, The heat lies silent at the brink of day. Now the hand trails upon the viol-string That sobs; & the brown faces cease to sing, Mournful with complete Sad with the whole of pleasure. Her eyes whither stray In the distance; thru her lips the pipe doth Her eyes now, from whose mouth the slim pipes creep, And And leaves them it pouting; the green while the shadowed grass Is cool against her naked flesh. side? Let be. Do not Say nothing now speak unto her, lest she weep, Nor name this ever. Be it as it was:— Silence of heat, & solemn poetry Life touching lips with immortality.