The first painting we looked at was 'Dante's Dream', by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1871, this was his very last painting before he died. The painting was based on a poem by Italian poet, Dante Alighieri in 1295. The poem was called ‘La Vita Nuova‘, which in English means ‘The New Life‘. In it Dante dreams that he is led by love to the death-bed of Beatrice Portinari, the object of his unrequited passion. The model for Beatrice was Jane Morris (the wife of William Morris), with whom Rossetti had a long-term affair. Every woman Rossetti painted seemed to bare resemblance to Jane Morris. He painted her so much, that he could paint her portrait without her even being there in front of him.

In the painting Rossetti’s use of colour and connotations is very symbolic to the narrative of the poem. For example, he uses rich red colours that represent love, also there are two red doves entering and exiting the chamber which symbolise the transition from life to death. The attendants stood either side of Beatrice are wearing green which denotes mourning. On the floor there are poppies scattered around Beatrice, these poppies indicate the sleep of dreams and death. Apple blossoms are shown to signify a love that is unfulfilled, which refers to Dante and Beatrice’s unrequited love. And lastly, there is a flock of angels carrying a white cloud above Beatrice, symbolising Beatrice’s soul being carried up to Heaven.

The second painting we looked at was ‘Triumph of the Innocents’, by William Holman Hunt, 1876. This painting depicts the Holy Family attempting to escape Bethlehem, where there was a massacre of baby boys. The landscape is set on the road to Gaza, where there is a flock of baby boy’s ghosts guiding Jesus out of harm’s way. One of the infants has a rip across his chest where he was stabbed to death. There is no blood because the baby has now been healed through the life to death transition. From one end of the canvas to the other, these baby boys seem to become more aware of the transition from life to death as they appear to be more determined to pull the Holy Family away from harm.

In the distance of the landscape Hunt paints pin pricks of light, which are beacons, signifying urgency, warning and danger. Also in the distance, amongst the dark trees there is a ladder, this symbolizes Jacob’s Ladder. Jacob's Ladder is a ladder to heaven, described in the Book of Genesis, which the biblical patriarch Jacob envisions during his flight from his brother Esau. The piece is painted on Egyptian cotton as Hunt didn’t receive the usual canvas that he usually used for his work. When he tried to stretch the cotton, it ripped across the Virgins face, many people saw this as a superstition and thought it was the work of the Devil.

The third and final painting we looked at was 'Lorenzo and Isabella', by John Everett Millais, 1849. Millais created this painting when he was just 19 years old. In this painting there is an entire story told through one scene. Lorenzo is in love with Isabella and she is also in love Lorenzo. This is made obvious by a white rose growing behind and above Lorenzo’s head and also a passion flower growing behind Isabella’s head, the two flowers are intertwined, symbolizing love. Lorenzo is an apprentice to Isabella’s rich and greedy family and her brothers did not like this, as Lorenzo couldn’t bring any money to the family. They lured Lorenzo into a wood and there, they murdered him. That night, Isabella saw the spot where he had been killed in a dream. She fled to the woods with her nurse and dug up his body. She cut off Lorenzo's head as his body was too heavy to carry, took it back to her home and planted it in a pot of basil.

In this painting, there are various uses of symbols and connotations. Behind Isabella’s brothers, there is a Falcon chewing on a white feather, this indicates murder. One of Isabella’s brother is glaring at Lorenzo through a glass of red wine, this suggests that this brother is imagining seeing Lorenzo covered in blood. On the dining table, there is a pot of spilt salt, symbolising a spilt and wasted life, which is obviously referring to Lorenzo. There are two dogs amongst the crowd, one of them is resting it’s head on Isabella’s lap, which signifies devotion. The other dog is lying underneath one of the brother’s chairs, the brother is leaning on his chair and it looks as though he is about to crush the dog, which shows the brothers are about to crush the devotion between Lorenzo and Isabella. On one side of the table there are only 4 people, yet on the other side there are eight. The wall behind the group of people is flat, although there should technically be a 90 degree corner between the wallpaper and the windows. A lot of the painting is not in proportion, though it isn’t obvious at first glance. Finally, every person on the table is in profile, except for Lorenzo. Lorenzo is the only person who has been displayed with both eyes. Maybe this is so the viewer can connect with Lorenzo and feel empathy for him.