The Flight of Madeline and Porphyro during the Drunkenness Attending the Revelry (The Eve of St. Agnes)

Keats's poem was a favorite subject of the Pre-Raphaelites. In addition to this, earliest, representation by Holman Hunt, there are two more representations of the narrative: a triptych (1856) by Arthur Hughes and an oil painting by John Everett Millais (1863).

This particular work plays an important role in the history of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, as it was the impetus for the introduction of DGR to William Holman Hunt. Impressed by the painting when he saw it at the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1848, Rossetti sought out Hunt, leading to their friendship and artistic collaboration.

• Casteras, English Pre–Raphaelitism, 112-113.
• Hunt, Pre-Raphaelitism , 72-73, 75-78.
• Marillier, DGR: An Illustrated Memorial , 12.
• Prettejohn, The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites, 23-25.
• Stephens, Dante Gabriel Rossetti , 14.
• The Pre-Raphaelites [Tate, 1984], 57-58 (no. 9).
• William Holman Hunt: An Exhibition [Walker Art Gallery, 1969].