Portrait of Dante Gabriel Rossetti,

Alphonse Legros

c. 1863-67

Red chalk on paper

, 13 ⅛ x 9 ¾ inches (33.4 x 24.7 cm).

Collection of University College London Art Museum, London.

This beautifully sensitive portrait of a pensive Rossetti shows Legros’s characteristic use of red chalk in its handling, particularly in its sparing lineation and simple line shading. The portrait closely compares to contemporary photographs of Rossetti taken by W. & D. Downey in December 1862 and by Lewis Carroll on October 7, 1863. The drawing is undated but probably dates from c.1863-67, the period of Legros’s greatest intimacy with Rossetti. Early in their friendship Rossetti was a major supporter of Legros. George Du Maurier, in a letter to Thomas Armstrong of December 25, 1864 wrote: “He [Legros] spoke of Rossetti as his best & most useful friend” (248-49).