Beati Mundo Corde

This quiet image of a young nun or novice fastening her garment about her shoulders closely relates to Collins’ famous painting Convent Thoughts (1851). The members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, of whom Collins was a close associate, were devoted to the moral purpose of art. Nuns provided an unambiguous image of female sanctity that helped express this principle. The mount is probably original. It surrounds the figure in a vaulted frame, recalling the arches of a cloister. It bears the familiar Latin inscription beati mundo corde (“blessed are the pure in heart”) as well as a quotation from a poem by John Keble (1792–1866), an important religious figure of the day, that draws attention to the figure’s action.