Isabella, or the Pot of Basil

The scene for this watercolour fore-edge painting was based on John Keats' narrative poem Isabella, or the Pot of Basil. Written in 1818, the poem recounts the story of a young girl whose family has arranged to have her married to a rich merchant but who is herself in love with her brother's employee. The poem was a popular theme among Pre-Raphaelite painters. A fore-edge painting is a type of book decoration in which watercolour decorations are painted inside the page edge and are only visible when the book is open or the pages are fanned.