This is a rare self-portrait, dating from 1861, at which time Rossetti was married to Elizabeth Siddal. Eight years on from Holman Hunt's early portrait of his friend, Rossetti is no longer the romantic bohemian characterised by dishevelled hair and intense eye contact. Instead he now appears almost conventional, with straightened hair and an air of calm resignation. This is the largest and most formal of Rossetti's modestly few self-portraits. Contemporary descriptions of the artist concentrate on his dark grey eyes and large, round forehead. This portrait shows him dressed in his 'painting coat'.