| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Le Morte Darthur
(series title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and Indian ink on paper |
| Brief description | Drawing by Aubrey Beardsley, of a young knight, design for the chapter heading of Chapter XXXI, book VII (p. 280 of vol. I and elsewhere), in Thomas Malory’s 'Le Morte Darthur', pen and ink on paper, London, ca.1893-4
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| Physical description | A drawing in black ink on white paper depicting a stylised image showing a knight, wearing plate armour decorated with dragon's wings, standing between two trees. |
| Dimensions | - Image height: 161mm
- Image width: 67mm
- Sheet height: 170mm
- Sheet width: 76mm
Pasted onto sheet: 30.2 x 21.4 cm |
| Marks and inscriptions | - "A Knight" / Shown at the exhibition of Bearsley's work at the Tate Gallery, no. 29 / By Aubrey Beardsley / Original of the illustration / on page 280 of 'La Morte D'Arthur' / published by Messrs Dent / 1893-4 / Size 6 3/8 x 2 5/8 in (Handwritten note accompanying object)
- 17 Holland Park Avenue, / W / 16.8.10 / Dear Smythies / A line to say that the / Beardsley drawing of a / knight whch you are buying / from me is the original of / one of the illustrations to / 'Le Morte D'Artur', and / that I acquired it from / Dent the publisher of that book / Yours sincerely / Walter Emanuel (Handwritten note accompanying object)
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| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support |
| Object history | Beardsley was commissioned by J. M. Dent to produce illustrations for his intended republication of Malory's romantic tale 'Le Morte Darthur'; it was Beardsley's first commission. This design was for the chapter-heading of Chapter XXXI, Book VII, of 'Le Morte Darthur' which was published between 1893-4 by Dent.
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| Subject depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Literary reference | 'Le Morte Darthur' by Thomas Malory |
| Bibliographic references | - Cruise, Colin. Pre-Raphaelite Drawing. London: Thames and Hudson Limited London, 2011. 248pp, illus. ISBN: 978-0-7093-0264-3.
p. 297
- Calloway, Stephen. Aubrey Beardsley. London: V&A Publications, 1998
no. 194
- Linda Gertner Zatlin, Aubrey Beardsley : a catalogue raisonne. New Haven : Yale University Press, [2016] 2 volumes (xxxi, [1], 519, [1] pages; xi, [1], 547, [1] pages) : illustrations (some color) ; 31 cm. ISBN: 9780300111279
The entry is as follows:
490
Knight in a Relaxed Posture
Book VII, chapter xxxi
By 11 July 1893
Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.310-1972)
Pen, brush and Indian ink over pencil on white wove paper secured by slotted hinges; 6 11/16 x 3 inches (175 x 76 mm).
FLOWERS: Rose [ball type] (love, passion), willow (freedom).
PROVENANCE: J. M. Dent; bt. Walter Emanuel (editor of Punch); bt. Major R. H. Raymond Smythies on 16 August 1910; Elkin Matthews (bookseller, Bishop Stortford) Catalogue 113 (13); …; E. Kersley 2 July 1949; bt. Colnaghi (art dealer); bt. Gilbert Davis 14 January 1956; bt. Colnaghi 30 April 1959; bt. Elkin Matthews (bookseller) 22 August 1960;...; R. A. Harari, by descent to Michael Harari; bt. Victoria and Albert Museum in 1972 with the aid of a contribution from the National Art Collections Fund.
EXHIBITION: London 1923-4 (29), 1966-8 (194).
LITERATURE: Vallance 1897 (p.202), 1909 (no.59.xx); Gallatin 1945 (no. 345-624); Reade 1967 (p.319 n.98); Samuels Lasner 1995 (no.22).
REPRODUCED: Le Morte Darthur, 1893-4 (p.280); Reade 1967 (plate 97).
Repeated in Book IX, chapter xxxviii, p. 443; Book XVIII, chapter xxxiii, p.871. The relaxed posture of this knight suggests that Beardsley pays a tribute to Durer’s The Birth of Christ (c.1500, Alte Pinakothek, Munich) and G. F. Watts Sir Galahad (1862, during Beardsley’s lifetime, owned by Lord Farringdon; since 1913 at Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA). The rose tucked into his belt may be a lady’s favour. The chain mail of the knight’s armour in this drawing and in others for Le Morte Darthur resembles peacock feathers in images of the bird and the (more tightly controlled) Japanese fish-scale designs in Salome.
A letter on the mount with the address, 17, Holland Park Avenue, W, and date of 16.8.10, reads, ‘Dear Smythies, A line to say that the Beardsley drawing of a knight which you are buying from me is the original of one of the illustrations to Le Morte d’Arthur, [sic], and that I acquired it from Dent, the publisher of that book. Yours Sincerely, Walter Emanuel.
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