The lady of Shalott" by William Holman Hunt

Abstract

To begin, the referenced version of Hunt's The Lady of Shalott holds a history and meaning unparalleled to most paintings. Most significantly, this was the final painting completed by Hunt before passing away in 1910 (Stilo, par. 2). The finished product of this painting is derived from its 1857 engraving as seen in the Moxon Tennyson. The final oil version of The Lady of Shalott was started in 1886, finished in 1892, and exhibited in 1905 at the Manchester Art Gallery in England (Stilo, par. 2). Seeing the close proximity his death is to the completion of the large scale version of The Lady of Shalott, the artist had to enlist assistants to help finish it due to his frailty (Stilo, par. 2). The painting itself depicts the moment that the character sees Sir Lancelot through the forbidden window, the mirror cracks, and she realizes her demise.