A Wife - Face in Both Hands She Knelt on the Carpet, John Everett Millais, between 1860 and 1863

The figure of a woman weeping. She kneels next to a table. The wooden chair she was sitting on stands behind her. There is an open book in front of her on the table. In the background there is a window through which a landscape can be seen. A version of this illustration to the poem 'the wife' was published in 'once a week' in 1860 (7 jan. , p. 32). The poem, signed 'a', deals with a loveless marriage. In millais' illustration, the wife has just collapsed following the evocation of memories brought about by reading her old hopeful diaries from her school-days. There is a finished sketch for the drawing at the victoria and albert museum. Object Type: painting. Date: between 1860 and 1863. Dimensions: height: 10.2 cm (4 in); width: 12.7 cm (5 in). Medium: bodycolour, paper, watercolour. Collection: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. John Everett Millais - A Wife - Face in Both Hands She Knelt on the Carpet