The art of Beatrix depicts the dying moments of a young and beautiful woman. She sits with eyes closed, head raised in a trance-like pose, her open hands rest upon her lap and a sacred dove drops into them a white poppy. A sundial is at her side. This young woman is the Beatrice worshipped from afar by the 13th Century poet, Dante and in his poem 'Vita Nuova' he recounts the story of his all consuming love for this woman, the daughter of a prominent Florentine citizen.
The two small figures in the painting's background represent Dante gazing towards a beautiful red robed figure - Love. Rossetti, a major figure in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, was not only a painter, he was also a poet, and before the age of 20 had spent several years translating the cycle of poems and commentary that made up Dante's 'Vita Nuova'.