Study of Nijmi for 'The Triumph of the Innocents'

The painting of 'The Triumph of the Innocents' (Walker Art Gallery) shows Mary with baby Jesus riding on a donkey escaping to Egypt, accompanied by the spirits of the children slain by Herod. This is a preliminary study of a woman from Bethlehem, drawn by Hunt with her head inclined to one side, as seen in Mary's head in the painting. In the finished painting, Hunt gave Mary the features of his wife Edith. Hunt did much of the preparatory work for the painting in Jerusalem.