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The Wounded Knight

Print
1930 (printed)
Artist/Maker

David Jones (1895-1974) was an English-born artist and poet of Welsh descent, and much of his work was inspired by medieval legend and influenced by the tragic events of the First World War, in which he fought. This particular image, intended as an illustration to Sir Thomas Malory's late-15th-century English epic romance, Morte d'Arthur, may, however, have a more personal meaning. It shows a lost man and a distant, unattainable woman. Jones had been engaged to Petra Gill, daughter of the sculptor Eric Gill, but she broke off the engagement in 1927, marrying someone else in 1930, the year this print was made. Jones's style is characterised by a linear quality, both in his prints and paintings.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Wounded Knight (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Drypoint etching on paper
Brief description
Drypoint and etching by David Jones entitled 'The Wounded Knight', Great Britain, 1930
Physical description
Dry-point etching of a seated woman holding a man pierced by an arrow, behind them a landscape of tall rocks, horses, some with riders, on a shoreline, with the sun on the horizon over water
Dimensions
  • Plate height: 20.1cm
  • Plate width: 15.7cm
  • Sheet height: 29.3cm
  • Sheet width: 23.2cm
Production typeLimited edition
Marks and inscriptions
David Jones '30 (Signature; date; pencil)
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceMorte d'Arthur by Malory
Summary
David Jones (1895-1974) was an English-born artist and poet of Welsh descent, and much of his work was inspired by medieval legend and influenced by the tragic events of the First World War, in which he fought. This particular image, intended as an illustration to Sir Thomas Malory's late-15th-century English epic romance, Morte d'Arthur, may, however, have a more personal meaning. It shows a lost man and a distant, unattainable woman. Jones had been engaged to Petra Gill, daughter of the sculptor Eric Gill, but she broke off the engagement in 1927, marrying someone else in 1930, the year this print was made. Jones's style is characterised by a linear quality, both in his prints and paintings.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Taken from the departmental circulation registration 1948
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.520-1948

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Record createdDecember 12, 2002
Record URL
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