Thomas Matthews Rooke: Herodias, 1899

Thomas Matthews Rooke (1842-1942) was a British watercolourist. He studied at the National School of Design in South Kensington before moving on to become a student at the Royal Academy Schools. He worked as a designer, as an assistant to other artists, and was commissioned by John Ruskin to make architectural drawings. Serving as a studio assistant to Edward Coley Burne-Jones from 1869, Rooke assisted in the design work for William Morris & Company, decorating furniture and designing stained glass.  He also did work for Sydney Cockerell and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings; and exhibited at the Royal Academy and Grosvenor Gallery, usually focusing on subjects from the Old Testament and showing influence from the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

Herodias was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with the execution of John the Baptist. The daughter of Aristobulus IV and his wife Berenice, Herodias was a full sister to Herod V, Herod Agrippa, Aristobulus Minor, and Mariamne III.

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HC-1413: card size 7" x 5" (178mm x 127mm