Image of the Week: The Ladies’ Lament, Elizabeth Siddal (1856)

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Elizabeth Siddal’s death.  For this week’s image, I have chosen The Ladies’ Lament, inspired by the Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.

O lang lang may their ladies sit

With fans into their hand,

Or ere they see Sir Patrick Spens

Come sailing to the land.

In The Legend of Elizabeth Siddal, Jan Marsh points out how inventive this work is due to the unusual grouping: “…the grouping of the figures is unlike anything seen in contemporary work.  There is no clear centre of attention, and indeed the action, such as it is, takes place off canvas, as the women watch vainly fir shipwrecked menfolk.”