Borgia Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1 1850 - 1863 “The old man on the right is Lucrezia Borgia's father, Pope Alexander VI. Her brother, Cesare, smells a rose in her hair and beats time to her music on a wine-glass. Lucrezia wears a sumptuous dress [and] plays music for a dancing boy and girl who wear gold and black costumes” ( <hi rend="i">The Pre–Raphaelites , Tate 1984</hi> , 244 ).
<artist/> <location/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnpictorial> <citnmythic> <name/> <culture/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnmythic> <citnhistorical> <event/> <place/> <date/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnhistorical> <citnautobiographical> <name/> <place/> <date/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnautobiographical> <citnscenic> <place/> <date/> <bibl/> <note/> </citnscenic> </listcitn> </source> <commentaries> <head>Commentary</head> <section type="intro"> <head>Introduction</head> <p/> </section> <section type="texthistcomp"> <head>Textual History: Composition</head> <p/> </section> <section type="texthistrev"> <head>Textual History: Revision</head> <p/> </section> <section type="prodhist"> <head>Production History</head> <p>The little <xref doc="a.s48.rap">watercolour</xref> originated as a differently-titled drawing of 1850 (see commentary for <xref doc="a.s47.raw"> <title level="wrk"> <hi rend="i">“To Caper Nimbly in a Lady's Chamber/ To the Lascivious Pleasing of a Lute”</hi> ). George Boyce bought the watercolour in 1853 or 1854 under its original title, but in 1858 DGR took the picture back and repainted it as a scene from the domestic life of the Borgias. In 1862 he again asked Boyce to borrow the picture, this time in order to make a slightly enlarged replica “to be commenced by my pupil [Walter Knewstub] & finished by myself” (see the letter to Boyce, 20 October 1862, Fredeman, <hi rend="i">Correspondence</hi> , 62. 65 ).

Reception

Iconographic

Pictorial

According to Grieve, this original frame “appears to be one of the earliest designed by the artist” ( <hi rend="i">The Pre–Raphaelites , Tate 1984</hi> , 254).

Historical

Literary

Swinburne's influence may well have brought DGR to change the picture's subject in 1858. Lucrezia Borgia was a great favorite of his, and he was in fact preparing at the time to write an elaborate pastiche account of her.

Translation

Autobiographical

Bibliographic

Fredeman, <hi rend="i">Correspondence</hi> , 62. 65. Grieve, <hi rend="i">Art of DGR: Pre–Raphaelite Period</hi> , 51-56. Marillier, <hi rend="i">DGR: An Illustrated Memorial</hi> , 38-39 <hi rend="i">The Pre–Raphaelites , Tate 1984</hi> , 253-254 Surtees, <hi rend="i">A Catalogue Raisonné</hi> , vol. 1 15-16.

Tullie House watercolour (Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery) Dante Gabriele Rossetti con 107 Illustrazioni Elena Rossetti Angeli 1906 0 The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood J. Ernest Phythian 1905 0 Dante Gabriel Rossetti Ernest Radford 1905 0 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, An Illustrated Memorial of His Art and Life H. C. Marillier 1899 0 Borgia (watercolour replica) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1863 1863 watercolour 2 Borgia DGR 1851 1851 watercolour 5 Borgia (study) DGR 1850 (circa) pencil and black chalk 1 Borgia [print] DGR 1857-1890 (circa) Ivory/cream and charcoal/grey photoprint mounted on beige board. 1