The light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not 

Evelyn De Morgan likely made this drawing with graphite or charcoal, perhaps with touches of ink or gouache, on tinted paper. The drawing’s luminosity emerges from the layering of these materials and the conscious building of light and shadow, which gives the figure an otherworldly glow. De Morgan used traditional materials, but the composition and the handling of the media reflect the meticulous labor involved in the process. The figure is rendered with painstaking care, her drapery articulated in detail, as is the rendering of the menacing creatures in the depths below. The drawing isn’t just about religious allegory, but the act of creation itself. De Morgan's choice of traditional drawing techniques, and the great time and skill needed to create this drawing, challenges us to consider the value of the artist's labor, and the social context in which art is produced and consumed.