Design for Old Testament Window

"Design for Old Testament Window" is a significant preparatory drawing created by Dante Gabriel Rossetti between 1865 and 1875. Executed primarily in watercolor and pen and black ink, this highly detailed piece served as a design study for a commissioned stained-glass window project. Rossetti, a central figure in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, frequently used drawing as a medium to finalize compositions before they were transferred to materials like canvas or, in this case, glass, often in collaboration with firms like Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. This work exemplifies his mature Victorian style, combining intense symbolic meaning with medievalizing aesthetics characteristic of his religious and literary subjects.

The composition is vertically organized, reflective of its intended function within architectural windows. It depicts several central male figures, likely Old Testament prophets or patriarchs, engaged in profound scriptural narrative, their forms elongated and framed by elaborate decorative motifs. Above these men, the artist has incorporated dynamic representations of Angels, integrating them into the upper registers of the design to suggest divine presence and communication central to the biblical scene. The intricate linework rendered in the ink anticipates the leading patterns of the finished glass panels.

Classified as a drawing, this piece remains an essential document of Rossetti’s involvement in both ecclesiastical and domestic decorative arts during the late nineteenth century. It is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, contributing to the museum’s strong holdings of British Pre-Raphaelite art. As this masterwork is often available through the public domain, researchers and art enthusiasts frequently access high-quality images. Consequently, museum-quality prints of this intricate watercolor are sought after by those interested in the complex design processes of Victorian era artists.