
Painting
About the artwork
The Lady leaves her tower and drifts downriver in a boat, knowing the act seals her fate. The tapestry, chain, candles, and crucifix suggest art, captivity, sacrifice, and the cost of choosing life beyond a curse. Waterhouse turns Tennyson’s poem into an image of tragic freedom.
ARTWORK DETAILS
1888
Pre-Raphaelite
Tate Britain
London
John William Waterhouse / Tate Britain