Weeping Queen n.d.

John Watson Gordon rendered this drawing of a queen, sometime in the 19th century, using graphite and brown wash on paper. She gazes downward, perhaps in sorrow, her brow crowned. The crown, an ancient symbol of power, echoes through the ages, from the laurel wreaths of Roman emperors to the elaborate headgear of medieval monarchs. Yet, here, it rests upon a head bowed with grief, an inversion of its triumphant meaning. The motif of the weeping figure can be traced to ancient depictions of mourning goddesses, their tears embodying collective sorrow. Think of Hecuba, Queen of Troy, whose lamentations over her fallen city resonate across millennia. The image of the queen, burdened by the weight of her crown, speaks to the cyclical nature of power—its rise and inevitable fall—a drama played out again and again on the stage of history.