My Beautiful Lady (top); Of My Lady in Death (bottom), frontispiece to The Germ, No. 1 1850

William Holman Hunt created this etching in 1850 as the frontispiece for the literary magazine, The Germ. The composition is split into two distinct registers, each depicting a different stage of a narrative. The upper scene, rendered with delicate lines, shows a man restraining a woman near a body of water. The landscape is built up with layers of etched lines that create depth and texture. The lower register contrasts sharply, presenting a lifeless figure in the foreground, mourned by solemn figures in the background. Hunt uses the graphic medium to explore themes of love and loss. The stark contrast between the living and the dead disrupts conventional sentimental narratives, challenging viewers to consider the darker aspects of human existence. This tension between idealized beauty and grim reality encapsulates a key theme within Pre-Raphaelite art.