In 1877, when this painting was exhibited at London’s French Gallery, a critic writing in the Art Journal described it in the following terms: ‘A wayward young lady, on whose face is written pain and sorrow, if not remorse. Her female companion has conducted her to the foot of a rocky height on which is perched a convent. The lovely penitent has brought with her a votive gold trinket and a candle and her companion is apparently urging her to ascend a rugged path, which leads to rest and peace, before night closes’.
[1] See ‘Art Notes’, in The Argus, Melbourne, Friday 15 August 1884, p. 7, Accessed: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article6055400
Exhibited: Beyond Missolonghi, French Gallery (dealer), London, 1877; Henry Wallis’s rooms, Imperial chambers, Bank Place, Melbourne 1884.