Why did Dante Gabriel Rossetti turn from oil painting to watercolours?

Dante Gabriel Rossetti turned from oil painting to watercolours primarily due to the harsh public and critical reception of his early oil works, such as Ecce Ancilla Domini (The Annunciation), which was exhibited in 1850.1

Rossetti found the severe criticism he received difficult to bear with equanimity. Consequently, he ceased exhibiting his work in public and shifted his focus to watercolours, which he found easier to sell privately to personal acquaintances. This transition also marked a thematic change; he moved away from traditional religious subjects toward scenes from literature—including works by William Shakespeare, Robert Browning, and Dante Alighieri—which provided him with greater freedom for imaginative treatment.1