Out flew the web and floated wide

I have been thinking about shallots recently: the growing - my sources tell me that they provide a better crop on allotments than do onions; the eating - I cooked some in a rather fine broad bean and bacon risotto last night; and the symbolism - see posts passim.

It was therefore inevitable that on a brief trip to Leeds Art Gallery this morning my eye would be drawn to John William Waterhouse's 1894 painting. Less well known than his painting of the Lady drifting to her doom, I like it because it portrays her at her moment of existential crisis.

 A comparison of Waterhouse's various paintings based on the poem can be found here.

The Lady of Shalott has featured in this blog before, but that was, as it were, before.