Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Quest for the Holy Grail


There's an exciting collection of Pre-Raphaelite art at the Birmingham Museum in England. The Pre-Raphaelite collections includes sketches, oil paintings and tapestries.

Included in the collection are tapestries by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris and John Henry Dearle. My favourite is The Quest for the Holy Grail series. These tapestries were originally commissioned by William Knox for his house, Stanmore Hall, in Middlesex and tell the story of the hunt for the chalice that Jesus and his disciples drank out of at the The Last Supper.

The tapestry above, correctly titled The Arming and Departure of the Knights was the second in the series, and we see the ladies of the court help the knights prepare. Of particular interest is that Guinevere is seen handing Sir Lancelot his shield, an element that symbolises their eventual betrayal of Arthur.

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