The Legends of King Arthur in Art.: XXII (Arthurian Studies) - Tapa dura

This book is a study of works of art inspired by legends of King Arthur and his knights and produced over a period of nine centuries in Great Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, the United States and Canada. It deals with illuminated manuscripts, printed books, sculpture, pavements, wall paintings, easel paintings, drawings, embroideries, tapestries, stained glass, "objets d'art", furniture and clothing. This book is not simply a catalogue. Its purpose is to explain the social, political, religious and aesthetic conditions which influenced the artistic representations of the Arthurian legends in various historical periods. Tristan, lover, knight-errant and dragon slayer, was the most popular hero of the Gothic Middle Ages. In the Renaissance King Arthur served ambitious rulers as ancestor and model of successful imperialism. The Victorians favoured Lancelot, the ideal gentleman; Galahad, the embodiment of purity; the fatal women who enthralled their worshippers; 20th-century artists have turned to the Grail legends for iconic solutions to modern anxieties. Dr.Whitaker has consulted inventories, technical treatises, letters, memoirs, diaries and records of conversations to explain the legends' attraction for such patrons as the Duke of Berry, the Emperor Maximillian, Henry VIII, "mad" King Ludwig of Bavaria, Albert the Prince Consort, and the trustees of the Boston Public Library, and for such artists as Pisanello, Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Morris, Derain, Delville, Beardsley, Jones and Kiefer.