Our Lady of Peace 1907

Evelyn De Morgan made this painting, Our Lady of Peace, with oils, and it's got such a dreamy, otherworldly feel. Look at the way she builds up these radiant layers of colour around the central figures; it’s like she’s trying to capture light itself, as if she's searching to create an actual, visible glow. I bet De Morgan was thinking about the Pre-Raphaelites and the Italian Renaissance when she made this. Her paintings often have that medieval, spiritual vibe. It's an alternative to the sort of macho, male painting that was happening at the time. The angel faces feel so intimate and the textures in this are just gorgeous, especially the knight’s armor. De Morgan’s figures evoke an ethereal feeling with lots of layered shades. Painters have always borrowed from one another, creating a visual conversation across time. I think that, as artists, we’re all just trying to add our own little brushstroke to that ongoing dialogue, hoping to make our mark, too.