How did William Blake influence Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s artistic ideas?

Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s discovery of the 18th-century English painter-poet William Blake in 1847 significantly influenced his artistic development. After purchasing a volume of Blake’s designs and writings—a collection now known as the Rossetti MS—Rossetti was particularly struck by Blake’s critical stance toward the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.1

Blake’s vocal opposition to Reynolds encouraged Rossetti to develop his own critical voice. Inspired by Blake’s diatribes, Rossetti began writing lampoons targeting the triviality of early Victorian art. He specifically directed his derision toward the anecdotal subjects favored by painters such as Sir Edwin Landseer. This early engagement with Blake’s work helped shape Rossetti’s rejection of academic conventions, a rebellious spirit that would later contribute to his role in founding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.12