The Gilded Cage (De Morgan)

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The Gilded Cage
The Gilded Cage, by Evelyn De Morgan.jpg
Artist Evelyn De Morgan
Year1919
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions78.5 cm× 105 cm(30.9 in× 41 in)
Location Watts Gallery, Compton, Guildford

The Gilded Cage is an oil painting on canvas by the English painter Evelyn De Morgan, from 1919. [1] It was her final work before her death later in the year.

In the painting a woman looks out a window. Her outstretched hand forms a gesture of yearning as she watches a group of dancers and musicians. The principal figure among the travelling group is a woman who dances while holding her baby, suggesting that the scene also represents maternal duty. Broken jewelry and a book lay on the floor.

A bird soars free about the dancers, which contrasts sharply to the captive bird in the gilded cage hanging near the woman's distraught older husband.

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References

  1. Morison, Leslie J. (1992). Painting the gilded cage: Evelyn de Morgan and the plight of the Victorian woman artist. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 20.