Miranda 

Editor: So here we have Waterhouse’s painting "Miranda". There isn’t a date for it, but it's oil paint on canvas. The first thing that strikes me is how incredibly pensive it feels, that stormy sky just adds to the mood. What do you see in this piece, beyond the surface of a young woman staring out at the sea? Curator: It's all about confinement and longing, isn't it? Waterhouse often explored themes of women trapped by fate or circumstance. He paints women suspended in some kind of psychological torment that stems from either societal expectations or dramatic turns of event. Notice how the Pre-Raphaelite attention to detail emphasizes her isolation— the crashing waves mirror the emotional turbulence within her, as if she's having to surrender and resign herself to her loneliness. Tell me, what does her physical placement on the rocks communicate to you? Editor: Good point! She’s literally caught between the land and the sea, isn't she? It makes me wonder about her story – what is she waiting for? The overall color palette further speaks of the kind of emotional landscape she's immersed into. There are also narrative elements in this artwork, what is the symbolic meaning behind them? Curator: Yes, it also reminds me of similar themes we see in folklore stories such as Celtic mythology. The symbolism, with its heavy sky, can relate to hidden secrets or mysteries that often occur in folklores, what’s unknown lurks there, on the verge of showing. The sea itself can stand as some sort of journey, of long travel that feels neverending when hope abandons you. I also see an invitation from the author to think, imagine a story for Miranda. What do you feel? Editor: Definitely agree about the ambiguity – it's up to us to fill in the gaps, to create our own version of Miranda’s story. That open narrative adds a lot to the piece's timelessness, I think. It certainly made me look past what's shown!