Medea

A sorceress leaving the palace

In Greek myth, Medea is a princess and sorceress who helps Jason win the Golden Fleece, then is abandoned by him. Her revenge, through poison and murder, made her one of the darkest figures of ancient tragedy.

Evelyn De Morgan painted her in 1889, walking through a marble palace with a small vase in her hand. The painting belongs to the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum in Birkenhead.

A troubled, inward expression

Medea’s face is pale and serious, eyes turned aside. Her red-gold hair is braided with strings of pearls. Behind her head, an archway frames her like a halo, with a glimpse of a distant town.

De Morgan shows no rage or violence. Medea seems lost in thought, as if weighing what she is about to do.

A small vase of poison

In her right hand she holds a delicate pink-and-white vase containing a red liquid. It is usually read as the poison she will use. The object is small and pretty, which makes it more chilling.

Doves and dark statues

On the chequered floor behind her, white doves peck and rest. They are often seen as symbols of innocence or love, in contrast with Medea’s purpose.

At the left, dark bronze figures hold up bowls, part of the rich marble architecture. De Morgan filled the setting with luxurious detail, in the late Pre-Raphaelite manner she learned in London.

A woman painter of myths

Evelyn De Morgan (1855 to 1919) was one of the few women artists of her generation to build a career on large mythological and allegorical paintings. Her women are often strong, complex figures, and her Medea is not a simple villain but a person caught in a terrible choice.

The myth of Medea

Medea was the daughter of the king of Colchis and a granddaughter of the sun god Helios. When Jason came to steal the Golden Fleece, Medea fell in love with him and used her magic to help him. She fled with him to Greece. Years later, Jason abandoned her to marry the daughter of King Creon of Corinth. In revenge, Medea sent the bride a poisoned robe and killed her own children.

Her story was told in Euripides’s tragedy Medea, first performed in 431 BC.

The moment before revenge

De Morgan shows Medea walking through the palace, carrying a small vase of poison. She seems lost in thought, her face pale and troubled. Doves, symbols of love and peace, fly away from her. The moment is one of decision. De Morgan does not show the violence, but the inner conflict before it.

A sympathetic view?

Many nineteenth-century artists showed Medea as a monster. De Morgan presents her as a tragic figure, betrayed and abandoned. Her beauty and her troubled expression invite sympathy as well as fear. As a supporter of women’s rights, De Morgan may have wanted to show the suffering behind Medea’s crime.

An early masterpiece

Medea was painted in 1889, early in De Morgan’s career. It shows her mastery of drawing and colour, and the strong influence of Burne-Jones and Italian Renaissance art. The tall format, elegant figure and rich patterns are characteristic of her style.

Where to see it

Medea belongs to the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum in Birkenhead. Our hand-painted oil reproduction follows this composition. You can also read about De Morgan’s The Love Potion, or explore our famous paintings of women.

Questions about Medea

Who was Medea?

A sorceress of Greek myth who helped Jason and took revenge when he abandoned her.

What is in the vase?

A red liquid usually read as the poison she prepares.

Where is the original?

Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead.

When was it painted?

In 1889.

Who wrote the tragedy of Medea?

The Greek playwright Euripides, first performed in 431 BC.

What is Medea carrying?

A small vase of poison.

Sources and image credit

• The De Morgan Foundation

Public-domain reproduction of Medea (1889). Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.