The Pre-Raphaelites: William Holman Hunt's Isabella and the Pot of Basil

FAIR Isabel, poor simple Isabel!
Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love’s eye!
They could not in the self-same mansion dwell
Without some stir of heart, some malady;
They could not sit at meals but feel how well
It soothed each to be the other by;
They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep
But to each other dream, and nightly weep. 

 

Excerpt Isabella OR, The Pot of Basil by John Keats

 

Isabella and the Pot of Basil was inspired by John Keat's poem of the same name. In the tale, Isabella's brother's murder Lorenzo because they wish Isabella to marry someone else. Isabella buries Lorenzo's heat in a pot of basil and waters it with her tears. The painting is full of Middle Eastern objects, including fabric drapes and floor covering.

Here is a student's (age 7) sketch of the painting. He loves to include lots of details in his sketches such as Isabella's Middle Eastern belt, the details of the chandelier, and her hair draped over the basil pot.