Aurora Leigh

Aurora Leigh

Edith Martineau, 1842-1909

1881

Watercolour and pencil with gouache and gum arabic on paper on board

58.4 cm (22.99 in.), Width: 31.8 cm (12.52 in.)

Private Collection

Aurora Leigh is the eponymous heroine of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's long blank verse epic of 1856, celebrated for its ambitious scope and the way it deals with the choices facing women in that period. Unusually for its time, it presents a woman in the role of sage. Martineau's Aurora stands in her simple, flowing, Grecian-style robe against beautifully weathered brick and tenacious ivy, crowned with a single circlet of ivy, suggesting her connection with tradition. Yet her solemn expression and her stance, with arms raised, indicate that she has something new and important to say to us. Although this sounds contradictory, there may also be the feeling here of a woman at bay. The other heroine of the poem, Marian Erle, whose story emerges later, has been shamefully mistreated. Also outstanding here is the Pre-Raphaelite treatment of detail, for example in the few poppies and Michaelmas daisies by the wall.

Source: The Athenaeum, which kindly allows reuse of its artwork (derived from old catalogues etc.) "in any way, as long as you credit us." [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Text by Jacqueline Banerjee