R3,000 - R5,000
LA VITA NUOVA translation from Dante Gabriel Rossetti
LOCATION: JOHANNESBURG
London: George G. Harrap & Co, undated
8vo+165pp. Hardback bound in beige cloth. Embossed and gilt illustration and lettering to the front board. Gilt lettering to the spine. Decorative endpapers. Numerous monochromatic in-text illustrations. Tipped in coloured plates with gold illumination. Title page decorated with gold illumination.
Illustrated by Evelyn Paul.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s translation of La Vita Nuova is highly significant because it reflects both his literary scholarship and his deep artistic identification with Dante Alighieri. First composed in the late thirteenth century, La Vita Nuova combines prose and poetry to tell of Dante’s idealised love for Beatrice, making it one of the foundational works of Italian literature and courtly love. Rossetti’s translation is especially sought after because it is not merely a literal rendering, but a deeply sympathetic Pre-Raphaelite interpretation. As both poet and artist, Rossetti understood Dante’s fusion of beauty, spirituality, desire and symbolism, translating the work with a lyricism that appealed strongly to Victorian readers. His version helped introduce English audiences to Dante’s early poetry and became closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement’s fascination with medievalism, romantic idealism and spiritualised love. Collectors value it for its literary importance, aesthetic sensitivity and Rossetti’s personal connection to Dante.
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