Blind to the beauties of the surrounding meadows and wooded hillsides, a young knight in polished armour dramatically throws back his arms and appears to surrender himself to the lady bending down from the majestic horse – as if to kiss him. The encounter takes inspiration from Keats' poem of 1819: 
I met a lady in the meads, 
Full beautiful – a faery's child,  
Her hair was long, her foot was light,  
And her eyes were wild. 
I set her on my pacing steed,  
And nothing else saw all day long;  
For side long would she bend, and sing 
A faery's song. 
The artist did not depict the dark outcome of the story, which leaves the knight devastated, but focuses on the seductive power of the femme fatale. A fascination with chivalry existed throughout the Victorian era, but this painting reflects a rising anxiety over gender roles at the turn of the 20th century. 
Oil on canvas, circa 1901.