Egyptian Queen 1877 - 1878

Albert Edelfelt painted this piece, titled "Egyptian Queen", sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The Queen stands before us, a staff in hand, and the lotus motifs behind her speak of creation and rebirth, mirroring the eternal cycles of the Nile. The lotus flower, so sacred in ancient Egypt, appears across millennia in various guises. From the crowns of pharaohs to decorative elements in Renaissance paintings, it resurfaces, each time subtly altered, yet still echoing its ancient origins. Consider its parallel with the fleur-de-lis, adopted by European royalty. Is it not a distant cousin, carrying the same subconscious association with divinity and power? Edelfelt’s choice of the lotus isn’t merely decorative; it’s a deep dive into our shared cultural memory, a powerful symbol. These symbols affect our subconscious on a level that we can't articulate, a visual language that transcends time and space, always coming back in different forms.