Dante Gabriel

ROSSETTI

Mrs Jane Morris
July, 1865


The pose of 'The Roseleaf seems to have been taken from this photograph, but once again drawing and photograph differ. A real, oppressed and inaccessible woman, has become an alluring male fantasy figure. The transformation is achieved by a mere lifting of the eye and lightening of features: the roseleaf and hand, awkwardly appended, are superfluous.