La Belle Dame Sans Merci

This piece by John William Waterhouse titled “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” is one of the most well know works by this English artist from 1893. La Belle Dame Sans Merci or ‘The Beautiful Lady Without Pity’ is a ballad written by English poet John Keats. It tells of a story in which a knight finds a mysterious fair woman of beauty but whose eyes were wild. She says that she loves him and they travel to her grotto in the woods, where he is cast to fall asleep. Here we see the scene where she beguiles him and asks him to go with her to the woods. This medieval art tapestry “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” is unlined and has a tunnel for easy hanging.