Search the collection
At the Golden Gate
painting
Prinsep, Valentine Cameron
Europe, United Kingdom, England
1882 (circa)
1883.22
First floor: Victorian
Oil Paint on canvas
137.5 x 95.8 cm
At the Golden Gate about 1882
Valentine Cameron Prinsep 1838-1904
Oil on canvas
Victorian viewers looked for the story in paintings.
They recognised that the discarded lamp in this painting
was part of a biblical tale: The Wise and Foolish Virgins.
The painting shows a Foolish Virgin.
She wasted all the oil in her lamp
which made her miss a most magnificent wedding feast
because she couldn't find her way in the dark.
Prinsep shows her late, locked out and remorseful.
In fact storytelling is secondary to visual pleasure
in the sumptuous decorative effect of this painting.
The Islamic design of the golden door
and the sensuous figure of the woman
in her richly hued drapery
are the main focus for Prinsep here.
Gift of W A Turner 1883.22
Collections search powered by KE EMu software
