The Gilded Cage (Saint George Hare painting)

The Gilded Cage
Artist Saint George Hare
Year 1908
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 127 cm × 101.5 cm (50 in × 40.0 in)
Location Stourhead

The Gilded Cage is a 1908 oil painting by Irish artist Saint George Hare, one of several of his shackled female images including his more famous Victory of Faith.

It depicts a lone, sleeping woman shackled by the wrists to a column while butterflies fly past. Its title may have been inspired by the 1900 song A Bird in a Gilded Cage and the painting may have symbolic meaning.[1]

According to the National Gallery of Victoria (Australia), "The depiction of naked women in chains seemed to hold a special interest for Hare, and he returned to the subject frequently".[2]

Despite the captive's partial nudity she retains her innocence as her state of being disrobed is forced upon her by her captors rather than being her own choice.[2]

References

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