The romantic appeal of Sir Francis Dicksee’s medieval style, made up of literary, allegorical, and biblical subjects dressed in lavish costumes of exquisite color earned him great success and popularity. Born into an artistic family in 1853, his father Thomas Dicksee was also a painter and an etcher. Although he was not a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, he is recognized as one of the movement’s most profound influences. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876, rising in his association to become the Academy’s President in 1924.