“The Rose of Dawn” by James Smetham, 1821-89 (original) (raw)

The Rose of Dawn

James Smetham, 1821-89

c.1872-77

Oil on canvas

24 x 14 inches (61 x 35.5 cm)

Private collection.

At last I heard a voice upon the slope
Cry to the summit, "Is there any hope?"
To which an answer peal'd from that high land.
But in a tongue no man could understand;
And on the glimmering limit far withdrawn
God made himself an awful rose of dawn.

Tennyson was a favourite poet of Smetham’s, as he was for many Pre-Raphaelite artists, and a popular source of subjects for them. Tennyson’s medieval subjects, particularly his Arthurian poems, were especially popular with the Pre-Raphaelites. In this composition a solitary youth is seen standing on the height of a mountain range on the edge of a precipice and looking heavenwards towards the misty dawn.