Edward Burne-Jones made this study for a picture illustrating an ancient Greek legend. Ariadne's clothing in this drawing is draped in the style of classical Greek and Roman statues. Burne-Jones' actual source was the medieval poem 'The Legend of Goode Wimmen' by Geoffrey Chaucer. This medieval reworking of a classical legend appealed to Burne-Jones, who drew on both kinds of subject matter in his art.