The subject of the painting is from Ovid 'Metamorphoses (Book IV, 563-603). After Cadmus is turned into a snake by Mars, his wife begs Harmonia for a similar fate, which is granted. Here we see Harmonia in the embrace of her transferred husband. However, the Morgan deviates from Metamorphoses by depicting Harmonia as a stately young girl and not as the older woman of the original story.
The work was painted in 1877, shortly after De Morgan had returned from a trip to Italy. When it was first exhibited, it was accompanied by the following lines from Ovidi's Metamorphoses:
With shameless tongue he kissed her patient face,
Crawled into her lap as his hometown
Strangled her neck and shared the beloved embrace.
The girl is depicted naked so her legs, vulva, belly, torso and breasts are on the portrait.
Evelyn De Morgan (London, 30 August 1855 - there, 2 May 1919) was an English painter associated with the movement of the Pre-Raphaelites. She studied spiritualism, was an advocate of social reforms such as women's suffrage and was interested in moral issues. She derived her themes from religious and allegorical figures and scenes and strong female figures, often with a message of hope and courage.
                                
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