By the Waters of Babylon

Most historical paintings about exile focus on the physical violence of being conquered. Evelyn De Morgan’s By the Waters of Babylon (1882–1883) takes a completely different route, zeroing in entirely on the psychological weight of displacement and passive resistance. The narrative comes straight from Psalm 137. After Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, the Israelites were dragged into captivity. To add insult to injury, their captors demanded they sing joyful songs about the homeland they just lost. De Morgan captures the exact moment the exiles flat-out refuse. They sit by the river in active mourning, having literally hung their harps up in the dead willow branches. They aren't playing a single note. The physical environment does a lot of the heavy lifting here. The landscape is completely muted and barren, which forces your eyes directly onto the figures. The women are wrapped in flowing, classical robes—a classic Pre-Raphaelite design choice. The main woman draped in blue on the left is actually Jane Hales. She was De Morgan’s go-to model, used constantly to anchor the emotional core of her paintings. Ultimately, this isn't just a standard biblical illustration. De Morgan spent her career exploring the concept of spiritual imprisonment. By stripping away all the warmth and color from the background, she built a heavy, timeless allegory for what it actually looks like to be cut off from your home and your freedom.