King René's Honeymoon thumbnail 1
King René's Honeymoon thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 122d

King René's Honeymoon

Panel
1862 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Decorated glass windows have long been associated with ecclesiastical buildings but, from the latter part of the Middle Ages, domestic interiors were also furnished with such windows. Medieval-style stained glass windows were revived in the 19th century and the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was commissioned to create windows for both ecclesiastical and domestic settings. This panel comes from Myles Birket Foster's library window.

Places
In 1861 the artist Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899) embarked upon the building of his Surrey home, 'The Hill', in Whitley. He chose the recently established firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., who promoted functionalism in design and high standards of craftsmanship, to design its interior.

Subject
Depicting 'Architecture', this window is one of a series of four imaginary episodes from the honeymoon of King René of Anjou, said to have been inspired by Sir Walter Scott's popular novel 'Anne of Geierstein'. Though the novel was a favourite of Foster's, the series was originally designed to decorate a cabinet commissioned by the architect John P. Seddon (1827-1906). The cabinet was among the furniture shown at the International Exhibition of 1862.

People
The King René series was devised, and this particular panel designed, by Ford Madox Brown (1821-1898), one of the original partners of Morris & Co. Fashioned in jewel-like colours, it encapsulates the principles of 'invention, expression and good dramatic action' that Brown considered so important to stained-glass art.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • King René's Honeymoon (popular title)
  • Painting (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Clear and coloured glass with painted and stained details
Brief description
Clear and coloured glass with painted and stained details. Depicting 'Painting'. Designed by Edward Burne Jones and made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. English, 1862.
Dimensions
  • Framed height: 64.5cm
  • Framed width: 54.8cm
  • Framed depth: 3.2cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 31/10/2000 by Drew
Gallery label
British Galleries: STAINED GLASS: King René's honeymoon The designs for these four panels were originally made for the cabinet displayed below. They depict incidents from the honeymoon of King René, who was 'endowed with a love of fine arts'. The stained glass was made by Morris, Marshall Faulkner & Co., London, for the house of the painter Myles Birket Foster at Whitley, Surrey.(27/03/2003)
Object history
Designed by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (born in Birmingham, 1833, died in London, 1898).
Made for Birket Foster's house at Witley in Surrey, called 'The Hill'.
The subjects of the four stained glass panels are based on imaginary incidents in the life of King Rene of Anjou and show scenes from his 'honeymoon'.
Purchased from E.W. Kirby.
Summary
Object Type
Decorated glass windows have long been associated with ecclesiastical buildings but, from the latter part of the Middle Ages, domestic interiors were also furnished with such windows. Medieval-style stained glass windows were revived in the 19th century and the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was commissioned to create windows for both ecclesiastical and domestic settings. This panel comes from Myles Birket Foster's library window.

Places
In 1861 the artist Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899) embarked upon the building of his Surrey home, 'The Hill', in Whitley. He chose the recently established firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., who promoted functionalism in design and high standards of craftsmanship, to design its interior.

Subject
Depicting 'Architecture', this window is one of a series of four imaginary episodes from the honeymoon of King René of Anjou, said to have been inspired by Sir Walter Scott's popular novel 'Anne of Geierstein'. Though the novel was a favourite of Foster's, the series was originally designed to decorate a cabinet commissioned by the architect John P. Seddon (1827-1906). The cabinet was among the furniture shown at the International Exhibition of 1862.

People
The King René series was devised, and this particular panel designed, by Ford Madox Brown (1821-1898), one of the original partners of Morris & Co. Fashioned in jewel-like colours, it encapsulates the principles of 'invention, expression and good dramatic action' that Brown considered so important to stained-glass art.
Associated object
Bibliographic references
  • Barringer, T., Rosenfeld, J. and Smith, A. Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde. London: Tate Publishing, 2012. pp.84-85
  • Barringer, T., Rosenfeld, J. and Smith, A. Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design. London: Tate Publishing, 2012. pp.84-85
  • Barringer, T. Rosenfeld, J. and Smith A. Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde. London: Tate Publishing, 2012. pp.154-155
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.517-1953

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Record createdMay 27, 1999
Record URL
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