Untitled - preparatory drawing for 'The marriage at Cana'

This study reveals the detail and planning that Winifred Knights put into The Marriage at Cana.

In the painting, the woman’s necklace is an eye-catching red, suggesting the coral beads that were often used to symbolise droplets of Christ’s blood in Renaissance painting. This figure might therefore represent the Virgin Mary, who – according to the Gospel of John – accompanied Jesus to the wedding at Cana, and encouraged him to perform his first miracle.

Knights herself wore a coral necklace that she bought while studying in Italy, although this figure study is not a self-portrait.