Pygmalion and the Image series which dates back to 1867–1870, used harsher tones, darker colours and less fluid lines – as may be seen in the Gallery below. This second version, despite being painted in oils, has the sheen and soft tones of chalk. The story tells of Pygmalion, a sculptor of Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite. It was first related in Ovid's "Metamorphoses", although by the time of this series, William Morris had written his own version of the story. Pygmalion is seen here in his studio, pondering his lonely life, having chosen to remain celibate in disgust at what he saw as the
Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed life, her very innocence leads to complications. The following synopsis of "Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed" was printed in "The Era": The title will perhaps suggest that in this instance Galatea is the sculptor and Pygmalion the statue – the ideal man endowed with life and able to toddle, though a very earnest appeal to the "gods" perched up aloft in the gallery. The living statue is very angular in movement, and its face is not exactly handsome; but Pygmalion with his first breath becomes filled up with vanity. He exclaims with rapture, "How beautiful I am!" and given a hand-mirror