These studies are for consecutive illustrations to George Eliot's Romola, both appearing in the Cornhill for December 1862 (vol. VI, no. 36). The drawing on the left is for the illustration entitled 'The Painted Record' (facing p. 721), that on the right for 'Coming Home' (facing p. 726). Both drawings are in reverse to the woodcut images as printed.

Romola was published in the Cornhill in monthly instalments from July 1862 to August 1863, Leighton making twenty-five full-page illustrations and fourteen decorated initial letters. All engraved by W.J. Linton, they are regarded as one of the outstanding achievements of the revival of illustration in the sixties. Romola is a historical novel set in Florence at the time of Savonarola. Leighton had made a speciality of Italian Renaissance themes in his paintings, notably the famous Cimabue's Madonna (Royal Collection, on loan to the National Gallery), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1855, and George Eliot often took his advice on matters of historical detail. As she told a friend in July 1862, 'He is an invaluable man to have because he knows Florence by heart'.

For further information, see L. and R. Ormond, Lord Leighton, 1975, pp. 58-9. The Ormonds single out 'Coming Home' as one of the 'most successful' designs in the series