This is also a reference to the death of Elizabeth Siddall, known affectionately by Rossetti as 'The Dove', and who took her own life with an overdose of laudanum. Beatrice's impending death is evoked by the dove – symbol of the holy spirit – which descends towards her, an opium poppy in its beak. In the distance the Ponte Vecchio signifies the city of Florence, the setting for Dante's story. In the background of the picture the shadowy figure of Dante looks across at Love, portrayed as an angel and holding in her palm the flickering flame of Beatrice's life. Stephens, the grey and green of her dress signify 'the colours of hope and sorrow as well as of love and life' ('Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti', Portfolio, vol.22, 1891, p.46). She is posed in an attitude of ecstasy, with her hands before her and her lips parted, as if she is about to receive Communion.
Rossetti intended to represent her, not at the moment of death, but transformed by a 'sudden spiritual transfiguration' (Rossetti, in a letter of 1873, quoted in Wilson, p.86). It has a hazy, transcendental quality, giving the sensation of a dream or vision, and is filled with symbolic references. The picture is a portrait of Elizabeth Siddall in the character of Beatrice.
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