Broken vows

In an attempt to get myself to get back into blogging and step out of my pity party, I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo for the month of September. For those of you not in the know, NaBloPoMo/National Blog Posting Month challenges you to post a blog post for everyday of the month. September's theme is art - which is probably why I'm participating again.
Granted, I'm seven days behind... I suppose I'll just have to catch up!
So, I'll be posting a one of my favorite works of art everyday of September.

Broken Vows, Phillip Hermogenes Calderon, 1857

Starting the month off is Broken Vows by Phillip Hermogenes Calderon. I had written an essay for this particular piece while studying in London and saw the painting up close.
Here's some snippets from the essay:

"The brunette's pain is politely, or perhaps cruelly, accented by the couple outside of the gate."
"Is the couple outside the gate the brunette's old beau and his new mistress? Did the relationship end before the other began, or is she now learning of her beau's fickle heart?"
"... is she listening in silence; lamenting her innocence, suffering her punishment for believing in him?"
"And are we, the audience, giving our sympathy to this woman forever locked in pain and betrayal or fearing our own romantic fates?"

Thanks goes to Wikipedia and Gardner's Art through the Ages for providing information, images and inspiration.