When Van Gogh painted a portrait, his sitter was often conventionally posed. But we saw in his work the first inklings of abstractionism: in The Lullaby (Woman Rocking a Cradle), there is no song forming on the lips of his subject. But in the floral wallpaper behind her we see the rise and fall of melody, a tender tribute to nurturing new life and motherhood. With a further degree of abstraction, the same rich musical symbolism is evident in A Prayer. The subject kneels in a quiet moment of deep reverence. But in the profusion of vivid forms that engulf her, we are witness to her private intentions. The result is a visual hymn: a moment of profound connection, in which her innermost reflections are depicted in their full, resonant glory.