The Fair of Rosalind

From As You Like It by William Shakespeare
With Lily Langtry as Rosalind

Rosalind, the cross-dressing debutante, is one of the more visually picturesque figures in Shakespearean theater. On a quest to find her father, the banished Duke, Rosalind takes the name of Ganymede and travels with her friend through the forest of Arden, eventually coming upon her love interest, Orlando, whereupon Shakespearean hijinks ensue.

The painting shows Rosalind dressed in men’s clothes with her hair under her cap, reading the love letters that her beau-to-be has posted around the forest. The background replicates a section of a Victorian matte painting, while Langtry/Rosalind/Ganymede reclines on a stone while reading her lover’s missives. I could find no reference to the actual color of her clothing so red was chosen to provide a dramatic contrast to the primarily green forest background.

Lily Langtry, popularly known as Jersey Lily, was introduced to a modern audience by the Paul Newman movie, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, in which Langtry was depicted as Judge Bean’s lifelong obsession (though they had never met). Langtry was in fact a major actress and socialite of the late nineteenth century. She was mistress to the future King of England, Edward VII, and friends with the author Oscar Wilde and the painter James MacNeil Whistler.