Smithsonian American Art Museum
Fedalma
George Fuller, born Deerfield, MA 1822-died Brookline, MA 1884 · 1883-1884
This painting shows the heroine of George Eliot's poem The Spanish Gypsy. In the poem Fedalma must choose between family duty and the prospect of a happy marriage with a wealthy duke ("Women in the Literary Marketplace," Cornell Univ. Library Web site). Fuller chose to show her holding a gold necklace, a gift from the duke that symbolized the splendor he could offer her.
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