Explore the Appraisal of this artwork.
Mariana in the South is a major painting by Waterhouse, and depicts scenes from the 1830 Tennyson poem "Mariana in the South". Mariana prays for the return of the lost love, the dictator Angelo, who brutally spurned her on the loss of her dowry. The picture illustrates the line "And in the liquid mirror glowed the clear perfection of her face" from Tennyson's poem.
Mariana in the South Tennyson dowry