Beatrice in the arbour

Taking his subject matter from Act III, scene 1 from William Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing, Darvall has depicted Hero telling her maid Ursula that Benedick loves Beatrice, knowing that Beatrice will overhear. The arbour is covered with ivy, honeysuckle and a vine, all denoting the bonds of love and their constancy. Painting a decade after the foundation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Darvall has clearly absorbed Pre-Raphaelite influence.