The Bridge of Sighs
Print
19th century (made)
19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Millias came to fame as one of the group of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This etching shows a young woman standing on the bank of the Thames. Her expression is one of despair, and she appears to be holding a baby in the folds of her voluminous black cloak. The etching was made as an illustration to Thomas Hood's poem 'The Bridge of Sighs' (first published in 1844) when it was published again in Passages of the Poems of Thomas Hood, Illustrated by the Junior Etching Club, London, 1858). The tall Waterloo Bridge was popularly known as the 'Bridge of Sighs' because so many people chose to commit suicide there. Young women, especially unmarried mothers or prostitutes, often chose suicide as the only way to escape shame and destitution.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Bridge of Sighs (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Etching on paper |
| Brief description | Millais; The Bridge of Sighs; etching |
| Physical description | Etching of a young woman wrapped in a dark cape standing on the bank of the river Thames in London. A bridge and a dome (probably St Paul's) is visible in the background. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Millais monogram (printed in bottom left of image) |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Literary reference | Passages of the Poems of Thomas Hood |
| Summary | Millias came to fame as one of the group of artists known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This etching shows a young woman standing on the bank of the Thames. Her expression is one of despair, and she appears to be holding a baby in the folds of her voluminous black cloak. The etching was made as an illustration to Thomas Hood's poem 'The Bridge of Sighs' (first published in 1844) when it was published again in Passages of the Poems of Thomas Hood, Illustrated by the Junior Etching Club, London, 1858). The tall Waterloo Bridge was popularly known as the 'Bridge of Sighs' because so many people chose to commit suicide there. Young women, especially unmarried mothers or prostitutes, often chose suicide as the only way to escape shame and destitution. |
| Bibliographic reference | Ahlund, Mikael (ed.), The Pre-Raphaelites Stockholm : Nationalmuseum, 2009
no. 75 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.464-1903 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | October 24, 2007 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
