- Artist
- Henry Alexander Bowler 1824–1903
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 610 × 508 mm
frame: 788 × 685 × 100 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Presented by H. Archer Bowler 1921
- Reference
- N03592
Online caption
A young woman stands in a graveyard, contemplating the Christian belief that the dead will come back to life on the Day of Judgement. The butterfly on the skull symbolises- the human soul, and a tree rises from a gravestone carved with the word Resurgram’ (I shall rise again). The sprouting chestnut below the inscription seems to answer the woman’s question: ‘Can these dry bones live?’ Around this time, geological and scientific discoveries were challenging traditional readings of the Bible. The Pre-Raphaelites were interested in these new ideas. Here, Bowler attempts to reconcile nature with faith.
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