Simeon Solomon (1840-1905)

Solomon depicted Erinna, and her lover Sappho, throughout the 1860’s, culminating in Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Myteline (Tate Britain). His fascination with their poetry and relationship endured, and twenty years later he returned to the subject to make this drawing. Here, Erinna is depicted in a more masculine way, wearing a laurel wreath on her head more often associated with Sappho. Her closed eyes and strong features recall those of Sappho in the Tate watercolour, giving the impression that Solomon is asserting the often overlooked Erinna, both as the dominant partner in their relationship, and as a talented poet in her own right.