Mercy's Dream

Daniel Huntington

National Gallery of Art

This is a painting depicting an angel crowning a seated woman in a dark landscape. The angel has white wings with hints of pink and green, pale skin, and short, golden hair. They are draped in a flowing white robe, and have one hand extended upward and the other placing a golden crown on the woman's head. The woman sits below the angel, near the bottom left corner of the painting. Her eyes are closed, and she has one hand placed on her chest. She also has pale skin and golden hair, and she wears a draping white garment that hangs loosely off of her shoulders and is tied at the waist with what looks like white rope. Over her legs there appears to be a blanket in shades of coral pink and golden yellow. The background is dark, but seems to be a rocky terrain with sparse green grass and trees, under a dark sky with dramatic purple clouds and a hint of pink light emerging behind some rocky mountains on the right. The angel and woman are brightly illuminated against the dark background.