The Moonbeams Dipping into the Sea by Evelyn De Morgan (1850-1919). 1900-1919. Oil on canvas. Framed: H 990 x W 708 x D 50 mm. Inscriptions: Signature, painted, lower left: "EDem." De Morgan Collection: Object no. P_EDM_0012. Shown on the right in its frame. Photographed by Laurent Bury at Wightwick Manor in July 2024. Caption details from the De Morgan Collection. [Cick on the images to enlarge them.]
In her biography of the De Morgans, typically entitled for the time (1922), William De Morgan and His Wife, Anna Maria Stirling explains that Evelyn De Morgan in her last years was greatly affected by the "horror of the war, increased by a profound loneliness" after her husband's death in 1917, and at that point returned to "something of the grim imagination of her childhood." Stirling continues:
a sharp divergence was noticeable between the work produced by Evelyn during this last sad phase and the fair, joyous beauty of her earlier manner when each picture which she achieved was a crystallized poem, a glory of colour and of radiant dreams. Into her loveliest fancies now had crept a note of tragedy, a sense of evil which would not be repressed. In only one, perhaps, belonging to this period, has an idea of poetic symbolism materialized from her brush untouched by any sorrowful influence — the beautiful little picture called The Moonbeams dipping into the sea of which she made three copies, none of which, however, were finished. [383]
Left: Pencil study for one of the "moonbeams," 6 x 8 inches. [Click on this image more information.] Right: Study in chalk for the painting. Source: Stirling, facing p. 368.
Particularly pleasing here, especially in view of Stirling's insight into De Morgan's state of mind, is the adaptation of the old idea of the moon representing the female life cycle, with its various stages, to show only the first stage, that of nubility and fertility. The rainbow hues of the clouds drifting across the moon itself also suggest hope and promise. Although the work is said to be unfinished, this is not at all apparent from the painting, which is among her most appealing.
You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit Laurent Bury or the sources of the scans and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Bibliography
The Moonbeams Dipping into the Sea. De Morgan Collection. Web. 9 September 2024.
Stirling, Anna Maria Wilhelmina. William De Morgan and His Wife. New York: Holt, 1922. Internet Archive, from a copy in the Getty Research Institute. Web. 9 September 2024.
Created 9 September 2024