John Everett MillaisBritish, 1829–1896Mariana in the Moated Grange
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Mariana in the Moated Grange” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
This is a study for Millais' oil painting Mariana. He exhibited the finished work at the Royal Academy in 1851, and it is now in the collection of Tate Britain (TO7553). The painting - and this sketch - illustrate some lines from Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘Mariana’ (1830):
She only said, 'My life is dreary,
He cometh note', she said;
She said, 'I am aweary, aweary,
I would that I were dead!'
Tennyson's poem was itself inspired by William Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. In this drama, Mariana is rejected by her fiancé, Angelo. She retires to a lonely moated grange, where she waits longingly to be reunited with him. Millais' picture shows her standing up from the embroidery that she has been working on to pass the time, and stretching her aching back. The gesture emphasises how long and tiring her lonely vigil has been.
Read on
Tennyson was a favourite poet of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. He provided inspiration for a number of their pictures.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- E.354-1931
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
![Study of a Pottery Jug [recto], John Everett Millais, c. 1842](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/bd3617b6-ebda-468c-9b54-142851ab029e/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
