The Blue Closet 1857

Dante Gabriel Rossetti made this watercolour painting, The Blue Closet, sometime in the 1850s or 60s. It depicts a group of women in medieval dress, gathered around what seems to be a musical instrument. Rossetti's Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood rejected the stale conventions of the Royal Academy and sought to recapture the intense colours and spiritual depth of early Renaissance art. The Middle Ages were understood in the 19th century as a time of Christian faith and close-knit communities, and were held up in contrast to the industrial capitalism of Victorian Britain. Here, however, Rossetti seems to question that ideal. The women appear trapped and isolated in a claustrophobic space. Their music-making is strange and discordant, and its effect is to create a sense of unease. Art historians can shed light on this painting by looking into the aesthetic and cultural values of Pre-Raphaelitism and its critique of Victorian society. Rossetti's painting invites us to consider the complex relationship between art and social change, and its ability to both reflect and challenge the norms of its time.