The Prophetic Pictures - Nathaniel Hawthorne -188 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

The Prophetic Pictures

First published in The Token and Atlantic Souvenir of 1837, this story shows a keen insight into an artist’s life, the workings of his/her mind and how the writing of Hawthorn explores the spiritual heights and depths of our human nature.
Adapted from AmerLit

Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story “The Prophetic Pictures” is about a couple, Elinor and Walter, who want to get a portrait done for their upcoming wedding. They meet a painter who is famous in the city for not just the aesthetic quality of his art but also the unique trait of having an insight into his model’s minds, thoughts and being able to project the model’s future through his finished piece.

When the work is commissioned by the couple, the painter foreshadows a couple's true feelings in a portrait he made of them. The painter is said to be magical because he paints people's minds, hearts and innermost emotions in their portraits. He examines the couple and soon starts to see their phantom selves, which he projects onto their portraits; for example, on Elinor a look of grief and terror which soon resembles her own face like a mirror and the painter quietly tells the startled bride that he only paints what he truly sees when he looks past their exterior.

As time progresses, the couple get married. The painting adorns the front hall of their home. But with each passing day, as visitors come and look at the couples´ portraits, they notice a gloom on Elinor´s face in the portrait. The embarrassed wife soon covers the portraits for a few months hoping to dull the tone of the paintings but months later she sees that the painting´s gentle sorrow only deepened and even Walter´s face is now moody and dull. The couple´s features soon start to mirror their expression on their portraits and the painter watches as he sees the real people become what he painted months ago, proving correct the warning he gave to the wife about her true feeling for her husband. The story ends in a fatal way.



Artistry in the 1800s

Art in the beginning of the 1800s was still heavily commissioned by the Church or the State, that is why the themes were strictly religious. With time, artists began to make works with an uncertain future. Rather than working for the church or state, whose commissions demanded ideological and often stylistic conformity, artists had become freelance and seemingly free-spirited producers. The story reflects this professional mindset.

Adapted from britanica art forum


The story also throws light on the nature of prophetic tales and social beliefs prevalent in that era.



Illustration: "The angel Moroni delivering the plates of the Book of Mormon to Joseph Smith," 1886. Credit: Library of Congress