Mrs. William Morris Seated in Chair

Mrs. William Morris Seated in Chair by Dante Gabriel Rossetti English, 1828-1882, is a highly finished drawing created in 1870, capturing Jane Morris, the iconic muse of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and wife of Rossetti’s colleague, William Morris. Executed entirely in graphite, the artist employed the specialized technique of stumping on ivory wove paper, allowing him to achieve subtle gradations of tone and deep, velvety shadows characteristic of his later drawings. This detailed treatment softens the contours of the sitter’s face and drapery, imparting a sense of brooding intensity to the intimate portrait.

Rossetti was a central figure in the mid-19th century British art scene. Although created years after the Brotherhood’s initial formation, this piece exemplifies the cultural obsession with intense psychological portraiture prevalent in Victorian England. The long neck, voluminous hair, and deep-set, melancholic expression seen in this 1870 study are hallmarks of Rossetti’s idealization of Jane Morris as the quintessential tragic beauty. The sitter’s posture and steady gaze, combined with the moody chiaroscuro achieved through graphite and stumping, create a powerful sense of arrested movement and introspection.

This significant work of 19th-century English art is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As an important drawing from this period, the image is frequently reproduced, and high-quality prints often enter the public domain, allowing broad study of Rossetti’s mastery of the graphite medium.