3-080-159 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Mariana, 1870. The subject of the painting is taken from Shakespeare's play, 'Measure for Measure'. Mariana, a minor character, was also the subject of a poem by Tennyson. Rossetti's Mariana is lost in reverie - she has been rejected by her fiancé, Angelo, because her dowry was lost in a shipwreck. Her introspective gaze conveys her detached longing, giving no hint of the eventual re-union with her lover.