\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 This is the only oil painting by William Morris known to us today. Inspired by the legend of the knights of the Round Table
, the work is actually a portrait of Jane Burden in medieval costume; the woman whom the artist married in 1859.\par
She is represented in the guise of King ArthurÆs wife Guenevere and is about to do up her girdle, considered a symbol of marriage in the
Middle Ages. \par
The unmade bed and the copper jug used for washing tell us that the woman has just woken up. \par
Her awakening is accompanied by a troubadour, playing music at the back of the room.\par
The bedchamber, similar in its furnishings
to the one that Morris was shortly to set up in his own home, is dominated by the four-poster bed, enclosed by embroidered curtains.\par
Various objects are set on the chest next to it, including a bowl of oranges and a precious illuminated book.\par
T
he care that the painter lavishes on the depiction of the fabrics, utensils and furniture is a sign of his interest in the applied arts.\par
The composition is laid out on parallel planes. An impression of depth is created by the representation of the
