Isabella and the Pot of Basil is an oil painting in the Pre-RaphaeliteGroup of English artists formed in 1848 to counter what they saw as the corrupting influence of the late-Renaissance painter Raphael. style by John William WaterhouseEnglish artist known primarily for his depictions of women set in scenes from myth, legend or poetry. He is the best known of that group of artists who from the 1880s revived the literary themes favoured by the Pre-Raphaelites. (1849–1917), created in 1907 and exhibited at the Royal Academy that year under the title of Isabella. It was exhibited again at the Royal Academy in 1922, in their Works by Recently Deceased Members of the Royal Academy exhibition.^[1]

The painting is an illustration of a story contained in the Decameron (c. 1350) by Giovanni Boccaccio, which concerns ten young people who escape the plague in Florence by fleeing to the countryside. To pass the time, they entertain each other with songs and storytelling.^[2] Waterhouse’s painting is an illustration of the fifth story told on the fourth day.^[3]

The story tells of Isabella, who is in love with Lorenzo, employed as a clerk for her two brothers. But they want her to marry a high-ranking nobleman, so they decide to murder Lorenzo and bury his body in the forest. Lorenzo appears to Isabella in a vision, and tells her where to find his corpse. She exhumes his head and hides it in a pot of sweet basil, sustaining the plant with her tears. On discovering her secret the brothers remove the pot, leaving Isabella to wither and die of grief.^[1]

By 1981 the painting was owned by the singer and songwriter Sir Rod Stewart,^[1] and apparently hung in his Beverley Hills mansion.^[4] At auction in 2017 Isabella and the Pot of Basil was sold for £1.157 million.^[1]

See also

• Isabella and the Pot of BasilOil painting by William Holman Hunt, depicting a story in Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. by William Holman Hunt