The Blue Bower

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

1865

Oil on canvas

84 x 70.9 cm.

Collection: Henry Barber Trust, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham

Rossetti has objectified his painting by calling it "The Blue Bower," but it is really a portrait of his model and mistress, Fanny Cornforth. [Commentary continues below.]

Photograph (by kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery, London, when the painting was featured in their "Pre-Raphaelite Sisters" exhibition, 17 October 2019 – 26 January 2020) and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. [Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]