The Beloved 1866

Dante Gabriel Rossetti painted "The Beloved" using oil on canvas, drawing inspiration from a passage in the biblical Song of Solomon. Rossetti, deeply embedded in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, often explored themes of beauty, love, and sensuality, challenging the rigid Victorian norms of his time. This work offers a window into the complexities of Victorian society, revealing how it grappled with exoticism and the representation of race and gender. The central figure, a fair-skinned bride, is adorned and attended to, while a young Black girl stands in the foreground holding a pot of flowers. Rossetti’s portrayal invites us to consider questions of identity, power, and the gaze. How does the positioning of the figures reflect the racial and social hierarchies of the period? Rossetti himself said he aimed to depict "various types of female beauty." "The Beloved" invites us to reflect on how beauty is constructed and who is included or excluded from its definition. It serves as a reminder of the ongoing dialogue about representation, identity, and the emotional weight of history.