Walter Crane’s Neo-Romantic allegorical painting Morn, Noon, Eve, Night depicts four panels, with each one portraying a different woman, all meant to represent different times of the day: morning, noon, evening and night.
The first woman on the top left, symbolising the morning, is topless with long hair, holding orange lilies in her hand and surrounded by blue birds. The lilies in her hand evoke the image of Persephone, the goddess of spring and queen of the underworld, who is commonly depicted holding flowers, grains or pomegranates in her hand.
The second woman on the top right, symbolising noon, is fully clothed, like the two women at the bottom panels, is holding laurels, with a peacock, one of the sacred animals of Hera, the queen of the Greek gods, behind her.
The third woman on the bottom left, symbolising the evening, is wearing a veil and holding an oil lamp, evoking the image of Hestia, the goddess of the home, and a calm, homely, serene atmosphere.
The fourth woman on the bottom right, symbolising the night, has a dark cloak draped around her, with a black bird flying by her feet, evoking the image of Nyx, the goddess of the night.
Nature and femininity are closely tied up . Nature is often represented using feminine figures. This piece titled ,' Morn, Noon , Eve, Night ' shows the different phases of the day represented via a female body . Walter Crane's painting style screams Neo Romantic . Romantic style of painting has its typical characteristics . On the contrary, the Neo Romantic style of painting experiments vastly with colours and bold brush strokes. As the sun rises above the horizon, the new light spreads everywhere. The naked shape of the woman in the first panel metaphorically represents the sun rising every morning devoid of clothes and her hair unbound .
