Sponsa de Libano

'Sponsa de Libano' (The Bride of Lebanon) is inspired by the ancient text 'The Song of Solomon' from the Old Testament. It represents a love drama between a woman and her husband, and a third individual who tries to lure her away. The bride is shown walking along a woodland path surrounded by lilies, which symbolise her virginity. Female personifications of the North and South winds float in the air above. This open expression of sexual desire stunned the Victorians. Having engaged in a love affair with one of his models in the 1870s, Burne-Jones treated the subject very literally.