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This is the only completed easel painting that William Morris produced. It is a portrait in medieval dress of Jane Burden, whom Morris married in April 1859. The picture has been identified in the past as Queen Guenevere, partly owing to the fact that Morris published his first volume of poetry, The Defence of Guenevere, in March 1858. However, recent research has established convincingly that the picture is intended to represent Iseult mourning Tristram's exile from the court of King Mark.
The painting is a splendid expresion of the intense medieval style prevailing in Rossetti's circle in the late 1850s, with its emphasis on pattern and historical detail. Iseult appears to have recently arisen from her bed, where a small greyhound lies curled up among the crumpled sheets. She stands wistfully in her small chamber, her feelings for Tristram reinforced by the sprigs of rosemary, symbolising remembrance, in her crown.
The rich colours, the emphasis on pattern and details such as the illuminated missal reveal where Morris's true talents lay. He was less at home with figure painting than with illumination, embroidery and woodcarving, and he struggled for months on this picture.
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