Edith Recovering Harold's Body After The Battle Of Hastings
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''Edith Recovering Harold's Body after the Battle of Hastings'' is an 1827
history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...
by the French artist
Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (; 30 June 178917 January 1863) more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Early career Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famo ...
. It depicts the aftermath of the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
in 1066 during the
Norman Conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
, where the English monarch
Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
was defeated and killed in the fighting.


History and description

The painting shows a famous scene as
Edith the Fair Edith the Fair (, "Edyth the Gentle Swan"; born c. 1025, died c. 1086), also known as Edith Swanneck,Her first name is also spelled Ealdgyth, Aldgyth, ''Edeva'' or Eddeva, and sometimes appears as ''Ēadgȳð'' and ''Ēadgifu''. (Compare ''Godgi ...
, accompanied by some
monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
, scoured the battlefield for her husband, the fallen Harold. Edith, in the company of an older woman, and a monk, both point to the dead body of the king. He is lying in a broken
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...
, partially naked, with a sheet hiding his face which has been disfigured by an
arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
. British historical themes were very fashionable in France during the Restoration era, particularly those of
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
. Vernet produced several paintings including this one. It was one of several historical paintings Vernet exhibited at the
Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...
of 1827. In 1828 it was exhibited in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
at William Armfield Hobday's gallery in Pall Mall. Today it is in the collection of
Musée Thomas-Henry The Musée des beaux-arts Thomas Henry is a museum at Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (Manche) with around 300 artworks, mainly paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries. It has been rated as the third most important collection in Normandy.ÂMusée des beau ...
in
Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...
.


References


Bibliography

* Fahy, Everett (ed.) ''The Wrightsman Pictures''. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. * Harkett, Daniel & Hornstein, Katie (ed.) ''Horace Vernet and the Thresholds of Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture''. Dartmouth College Press, 2017. * Ruutz-Rees, Janet Emily. ''Horace Vernet''. Scribner and Welford, 1880. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edith Recovering Harold's Body after the Battle of Hastings 1827 paintings Paintings by Horace Vernet History paintings Norman conquest of England Cultural depictions of Harold Godwinson Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Sussex in art