| The Bridesmaid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | John Everett Millais |
| Year | 1851 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, genre painting |
| Dimensions | 27.9 cm× 20.3 cm(11.0 in× 8.0 in) |
| Location | Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
The Bridesmaid is an 1851 oil painting by the British artist John Everett Millais. [1] It depicts a young woman, having served as a bridesmaid, passing a piece of wedding cake through a ring nine times. These were traditional gestures in the belief they would show an image of a husband for her in the near future. [2]
Contents
Millais had emerged as both a founder and one of the leading Pre-Raphaelite artists during the mid-nineteenth century. Today the painting is in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, having been acquired in 1889. [3]
