|
King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid
By Sir Edward Oley Burne-Jones (1833-1898)
In the Tate Gallery, London
In this picture, considered by many critics to be his finest work, the painter has realised on canvas an immortal story which touches the heart as much as the imagination. Burne-Jones was well qualified to illustrate the charming legend which furnishes the scene depicted. He painted ideal people and created a world of his own for them. He invested his subject with all the wealth of a fertile imagination, which made him unique among the painters of his generation. These qualities are well shown in the present painting. The figure of the beggar maid expresses in a marvellous manner the description given in Tennyson's poem:
"As shines the moon in clouded skies. The artist shows us the beggar maid, wistful, bewildered, and ethereal, seated in her poor grey robe upon the king's throne. She is barefooted, and her arms are bare also, and below her sits the king, with his jewelled crown in his hands, looking up at her while he thus pays the homage of his love.
She in her poor attire was seen.
One praised her ankles, one her eyes,
One her dark hair and lovesome mien.
So sweet a face, such angel grace,
In all that land had never been:
Cophetua sware a royal oath:
'This beggar maid shall be my queen!'"
Happily as the painter has expressed the romance of his subject, he is not less successful in the treatment which he accords it. His technical dexterity is shown in the minute attention to detail, as well as in the rich colouring. This combination of imaginative power and craftsmanship make it a perpetual joy to the student and art-lover alike.
The picture was purchased for the nation by a body of subscribers from the executors of the Earl of Wharncliffe for 6,500 pounds.
From the book "Famous Paintings" printed in 1913.
Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
(Firefox users must click again on the large photo to see the very large image.)
Online "Name the Painting"
Edward Burne-Jones
biography at Olga's Gallery
The Mirror of Venus
by Burne-Jones
The Golden Stairs
by Burne-Jones
St. George and the Dragon
painting by Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
information at Wikipedia
Sir Edward Burne-Jones
extensive resources at The Victorian Web
Page Comments
Leave a Comment View all Comments
Most Recent Comments ( See more comments on this page ) 2015-11-19
I do enjoy the manner in which you have fraemd this specific matter and it really does give us some fodder for thought. On the other hand, through what precisely I have experienced, I basically wish as other remarks stack on that people today stay on point and don't embark on a tirade involving the news of the day. All the same, thank you for this outstanding piece and though I can not necessarily go along with this in totality, I regard your viewpoint.
Danny
Famous Paintings in this Series
M. Bompard
A Prayer to the Madonna
Botticelli
The Madonna and Child
Sir Edward Coley
Burne-Jones
King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid
Sir Edward Coley
Burne-Jones
The Mill
Jean Charles Cazin
Ishmael
John Constable
Boat-Building Near
Flatford Mill
John Crome
On the Skirts of the Forest
Pascal Adolphe Jean
Dagnan-Bouveret
The Blessed Bread
Theophile Emanuel Duverger
Alone
C.W. Furse
Diana of the Uplands
W.H. Gore
"'Listed"
Peter Graham
A Rainy Day
Jean Baptiste Greuze
The Listening Girl
Sir James Guthrie
A Highland Funeral
Frans Hals
A Man With a Glove
In His Hand
Hans Holbein the Younger
The Ambassadors
Henry Holiday
Dante and Beatrice
Sir Edwin Landseer
Suspense
Sir Edwin Landseer
A Naughty Child
H.H. La Thangue
Mowing Bracken
Sir Thomas Lawrence
Caroline of Brunswick,
Queen of George IV.
G.D. Leslie
Sun and Moon Flowers
J. Seymour Lucas
Flirtation
Jean Louis Ernest
Meissonier
The Print Collector
Jean Francois Millet
The Angelus
Jean Francois Millet
Going to Work
Sir William Quiller
Orchardson
The Farmer's Daughter
Ralph Peacock
Ethel
Rembrandt
His Own Portrait
Sir Joshua Reynolds
The Infant Samuel
Sir Joshua Reynolds
The Strawberry Girl
George Romney
The Parson's Daughter
W. Dendy Sadler
A Good Story
W. Dendy Sadler
Friday
William Small
The Last Match
J.M. Swan
On the Alert,
Lioness and Cubs
J.M.W. Turner
Peace: Burial at Sea of the
Body of Sir David Wilkie
J.M.W. Turner
Rain Steam and Speed
The Great Western Railway
Velazquez
Portrait of a Spanish Lady
"La Femme a L'Eventail"
Frederick Walker
The Vagrants
George Frederick Watts
Hope
James McNeill Whistler
My Mother
Anders Zorn
A Fisherman
Index Page
Famous Paintings
