Tate Britain

The Tate Britain, or otherwise known as “The Tate”, was our class’s first stop of many throughout the course, Media, City, and Cultural Capital.  One of the aspects of this course that I truly appreciated is the fact that students were able to go out and experience the city while simultaneously learning about different branches of media. I was also able to discover how easy it was to relate my own life to the topics we were exposed to at the various sites.

Many of the pieces within the Tate Britain exhibited strong connections to British history and culture; however, the one that specifically stood out to me was a painting that’s significance was not quite as transparent as many of the other paintings. The piece of art presented a clear view of a woman publicly lying half-naked in a bed of snow. She was obviously in a common area of her time and was surrounded by what looked to be Roman guards, small children, women, men, and over a dozen birds. The image is so life-like and bold, but the picture does not tell what the motives behind this death was, what cultural factors influenced this event, if this women had a family, or even if she was dead at all. The creator of the painting, John William Waterhouse, was one of the most well-known Pre-Raphaelite artists and exhibited the painting in the year, 1885 A.D. But, the actual year the painting took place was 304 A.D.  

St. Eulalia, the name of the women, and also the name of this painting, was actually not a woman at all. She was a twelve year-old girl at the time of her death, and, although the painting does not clearly portray how she died, the Tate Britain website declares that she was murdered by the Roman government due to her refusal to sacrifice to the Roman Gods. The story behind this painting definitely parallels to the story of Jesus, who was also tortured by the government of the society he grew up in. The reason why I connected so much to this painting is because I continually strive to mirror the faith and selflessness of Jesus, just as St. Eulalia had when she died. This painting may be fairly grim and gruesome at first glance, but Waterhouse intentionally includes the many doves surrounding St. Eulalia in order to symbolize that her soul is now at peace.

-Hannah L. Brown

“Saint Eulalia.” tate.org.uk. Tate Britain. Web. 27 June 2018.