Scene from "My Aunt Margaret's Mirror" (Keepsake Story by Sir Walter Scott) 1823 - 1833

John William Wright created this watercolor drawing, "Scene from 'My Aunt Margaret's Mirror'," in the early 19th century. It illustrates a story by Sir Walter Scott, tapping into the gothic and supernatural themes popular at the time. The drawing depicts a scene of occult ritual. Notice how Wright uses the visual codes of Romanticism: the dramatic lighting, the swirling figures, and the reactions of the two female figures in the lower left. This all combines to build an atmosphere of dread and anticipation. The setting is meant to be a gothic church, but could also reference the emergence of Spiritualism in England. The story, and Wright’s illustration of it, speaks to the cultural fascination with the supernatural. It both critiques and perpetuates common ideas about class, gender and power. To fully understand this work, we could look at the 19th-century publications and the illustrated annuals in which they appeared, as well as consider the influence of gothic literature and early photography. This reveals the many ways artists of the time gave visual form to popular obsessions.