I stand and stare, studying her sheer beauty, her sweet face concentrating and full of love framed by the golden strands of long red hair that flow far down her back.

Her white dress, inlaid with golden threads and adorned with a gold belt, covers her feet and trails over the stone steps behind her and, atop her head, the circlet of gold that signifies her status.

In her outstretched hand she holds a sword, resting it on his shoulder as he kneels before her, head bowed in reverence.

No other painting has the power to move me quite like 'The Accolade'. (Edmund Blair Leighton 1901)