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I stumbled on this painting “To the Unknown Land,” by Edmund Blair Leighton and find it so comforting. A grieving mother weeps on the shore as an angel safely carries away her child. Isn’t it stunning?
I found this painting via Restored Traditions, who collects and digitally restores beautiful works of art and makes them available for all of us. Â Check out their work here.
I wanted to know more about this artwork by Leighton and researched it a bit. Here’s some of what I found.
It was ancient Egyptians whose dead were always carried across a lake, to typify the embarkation of the parting soul for the voyage over the silent sea of Eternity to a new existence in the Unknown Land. In their adaptation of the idea, the Greeks added further details. But modern thought holds views on the mystery and meaning of Death different from the old, and Mr. Leighton’s picture expresses the change. A new element, tender & compassionate sympathy, has been brought into the fable, that transforms and ennobles it. Gone are the old horror and despair.”
** Finally, Des Moines-area friends, consider this my last nudge for the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Healing Retreat happening THIS Saturday. Head over here for all the details. We have a good number of couples registered, yet there is certainly room for more. Even walk-ins!
This is a beautiful painting, Lisa. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I lost my son, Samuel Tate Racca at 21 weeks on 8-29-14. This picture stirs a lot of emotions. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for posting
Beautiful…we’re only apart for a while…they are in the perfect embrace of love and joy that we all long and hope for.
Lovely. I imagine my 3 children (miscarriages) waiting for me at the gates of heaven. I live near Ames and I will share this on my page. I enjoy your blog, especially since I saw our family discerning the diaconate when our (6) children are older. Have a nice day.
Beautiful!
Thank you, breathtaking
I disagree. The dude in the hood is creepy and ominous, takes away from the beauty of the angel.
You are right, he is creepy and ominous, but so is the thought of losing your child. He is juxtaposed in the image with the beautiful angel at the opposite side of the boat tenderly carrying the child to the Unknown Land. Perhaps it is why creepy is included: to show that although it is painful and scary for a mother to lose her child, there is hope that her baby is going to be beautifully cared for in another place.
Thank you for sharing this painting. I lost my baby at 12 weeks in the womb this past December. It’s just so hard to describe all these emotions that I feel like I have to hide from the world and this painting helps me.