Morgan Le Fay by Frederick Sandys

This oil painting was created in 1863 by Frederick Sandys. It shows Morgan Le Fay, a sorceress of Arthurian legend, depicted by the artist as an evil enchantress. The scene is based on Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, in which Malory characterizes Morgan Le Fay as King Arthur’s jealous half-sister, hell-bent on using her powers in witchcraft to destroy his kingdom and end his life.

The following interpretations of the painting and its symbolism is quoted from S. Scarlett Moberly, The magic of Orientalism Myth and witchcraft in Morgan Le Fay by Frederick Sandys (1829–1904), in:The BRITISH ART Journal Volume XXI, No. 1, pp. 15-19.

You can read the paper online for free on JSTOR when you create a free online account: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48686920