Blue Silk Dress (Jane Morris)

Blue Silk Dress (Jane Morris) (1868) at Kelmscott Manor is one of the most intimate and psychologically direct of Rossetti's portraits of his muse, model, and obsession. Kelmscott Manor itself — the country house that Jane Morris shared with her husband William Morris — holds this work as part of a collection associated directly with the people depicted in it, giving it a uniquely resonant setting. Made in 1868, already deep in Rossetti's preoccupation with Jane, the portrait observes her features with the close attention of an artist who had studied this face for years. Her distinctive physical characteristics — the long neck, mass of dark hair, large grey-green eyes, and full lips — are documented here with the fullness of prolonged intimate knowledge. The blue silk dress creates an unusual coloristic register within his typically warm palette.

The cool blue of the silk dress dominates the color field, providing a contrast with the warm tones of the sitter's skin and dark hair. Silk fabric's reflective surface requires careful observation of how highlight and shadow behave differently on this material than on matte textiles.