Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), a leading member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, looked to the Middle Ages for a spiritual beauty and meaning he found lacking in his own time. His painting La Pia de' Tolomei had personal relevance for the artist while at the same time illustrating a story from Dante's Purgatory. La Pia (the Pious One), wrongly accused of infidelity and locked up by her husband in a castle, is dying. The rosary and prayer book at her side refer to the piety from which she takes her name, while the sundial and ravens apparently allude to passing time and her impending death. La Pia's continuing love for her husband, whose letters lie under her prayer book, is also symbolized by the evergreen ivy behind her. The painting is not simply an idealized transcription of a text however; the luxuriant fig leaves that surround the figure are traditionally associated with lust and the Fall of Man and have no source in Dante's tale. To learn more about Dante Gabriel Rossetti and 19th century painting, turn to Chapter 18. Book jacket.