Before the Battle

Before the Battle in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston engages with the Arthurian and medieval subject matter that occupied Rossetti and his Pre-Raphaelite associates throughout the 1850s. The moment before battle — armoring, prayer, farewell — was a rich emotional territory for Victorian painters interested in medieval chivalry, combining the beauty of period costume and armor with the weight of impending violence and possible death. Rossetti's approach to such subjects emphasized the psychological and emotional interior of the moment over any martial spectacle: the still, charged atmosphere before action rather than the dynamic of combat itself. Works like this one in oil on canvas reflect Rossetti's engagement with Tennyson's Arthurian poetry alongside Malory, as both literary sources were being actively mined by the Pre-Raphaelites during this period.

Rossetti's armored or costumed figures in this period are handled with careful attention to the reflective surfaces of metal alongside the richer textures of fabric and hair. The contrast between hard, cold armor and warm flesh or textile creates a characteristic visual tension.