A Dramatic Reading of Augustus Leopold Egg’s Untitled Triptych

Abstract

This article explores the significance of the theatrical and literary references found in the triptych Past and Present 1858 by the British nineteenth-century painter Augustus Leopold Egg. On the surface the work appears to be a warning against the perils of adultery, but analysis of the three paintings’ theatrical and literary references suggests a possible alternative reading involving a condemnation of loveless marriages.