Upon entering the Tate Britain I was most excited to see the work of Augustus Leopold Egg. As we discussed in class Egg’s work was very representative of the time that it portrays, I also found it especially compelling that he chose to display his narrative through three different paintings. The tone and coloring of the paintings were dark but the composition and detail of the paintings were thorough and immediately intriguing to the viewer. Personally, I am a big fan of the musical Les Miserables and Egg’s series Past and Present immediately reminded me of the character Fantine.

Past and Present No. 2, the painting included above, was my favorite of the set because I think it is the only piece in the series that displays a sense of hope. The usage of light and warm and cool tones as well as the composition give the reader a melancholy sense of hope. Not only was the work pleasing to look at but it also was interesting to reflect on how the class and myself first approached the issues being conveyed in the paintings. As a class, we immediately jumped to the conclusion that the woman was being abused and had to escape her situation with her child. However, that is not the message that Egg was trying to convey nor was it the message that any members of the period took from it either. It is actually depicting a woman who was caught by her husband having an affair and forced to move away as she was a tainted woman. The difference in immediate takeaways show the sharp contrast to how women are treated today and during the Victorian era.