The Love Potion 1903

Evelyn De Morgan's painting, "The Love Potion," uses traditional oil paints to create a scene rich with texture and detail. De Morgan’s method involved layering thin glazes of pigment, a painstaking process demanding time and skill. Notice how the luminosity of the golden dress contrasts with the matte finish of the books. The draping of the fabric, rendered with meticulous care, shows how De Morgan had mastered the art of illusion. The scene’s artifice, with the woman in classical garb mixing her potion, is set against a real engagement with craft. De Morgan belonged to the Arts and Crafts movement, which stood for a rejection of industrial production and the revival of traditional skills. Her work celebrates the value of handcraftsmanship, offering a quiet critique of the mass-produced goods that were becoming increasingly common at the time. The work asks us to reconsider the labor and the level of skill involved in creating such a visually striking artwork.