Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Christina was his sister, while Cotman taught him at school. He studied with Brown, tiring of his teaching but staying friends for life. The friendship with Hunt was critical — together with Millais they forged the Pre-Raphaelite philosophy. Further significant friendships began when Rossetti met Morris and Burne-Jones with both still students (even though Rossetti’s technical shortcomings soon showed). Tennyson, Browning and Whistler were friends, and Ruskin a keen but critical patron. Rossetti was a strong and tolerant influence on Swinburne, given the poet’s excesses when they shared a house in Chelsea.