Isabella and the Pot of Basil, John White Alexander
I love the contrast of this spare, Art Nouveau-tinged interpretation of the tragic and somewhat gruesome tale of Isabella, as compared to William Holman Hunt’s lavish and equally stunning interpretation of the same story.
The John White Alexander painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (large image here).
The small version of the Holman Hunt at Delaware Art Museum is one of my favorites to visit.
This one, however, is remarkable. It reminds me so much of the drybrush illustration styles that were so influential in the early 1990s. I had a tough time believing it was from 1897 at first.
Thanks for posting this!
I have been trying to identify this image for decades. My grandmother had a framed print hanging in her home as far back as I can remember (early 1950s). It was one of my favorites, so she gave it to me, and it’s now hanging in my home. I had thought it was “Isabella at the Well,” but could never locate it under that title. I’m delighted to have the true title now, as well as the author’s name and some background. Thanks very much.
My pleasure.
In cases like this, if you can take an image of a painting, you can use Google’s “Search by Image” feature to locate similar images: http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/images/searchbyimage.html
