Found
DateDesigned 1853; begun 1859; unfinished
Artist
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
(British Pre-Raphaelite painter, 1828–1882)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions36 1/4 × 31 15/16 in. (92.1 × 81.1 cm)
frame: 50 × 46 in. (127 × 116.8 cm)
frame: 50 × 46 in. (127 × 116.8 cm)
Credit LineSamuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935
Object number1935-27
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextThis unfinished work was Rossetti’s only attempt at a major painting that embodied all the principles of the Pre-Raphaelite method. He followed the Pre-Raphaelite practice of painting every element of the work from life, instead of from his imagination. The painting tells the story of a woman who leaves the country for the city. Realizing her limited options, she resorts to sex work. Her childhood sweetheart, venturing to the city to sell a cow, discovers her, but she turns away from him. The painting allows for multiple interpretations: Does the woman turn away in shame or in defiance? Is she embarrassed or unabashed by her choices? 
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