Monday, December 21, 2009

Princes in the Tower

The Sons of Edward IV in the Tower (1830) by the French history painter Hippolyte Delaroche (1797-1856).

Since Shakespeare’s Richard III the story of the poor sons of Edward IV who had been murdered in the Tower had caused a lot of speculations and artwork. The cruel fate of these pretenders to the English throne had inspired especially romantic painters in the 19th century.

2 comments:

  1. oh I agree. Two defenceless little princes, huddled together in fear, must have been a terrible and romantic image for artists to play with. Of the pre-Raphaelite versions of the story, I particularly like Sir John Everett Millais' version, painted in 1878.

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  2. That's right. Millais is a good example that less could be more. His painting is better arranged and illuminated. Nevertheless it's in the end the same cheap hokum.

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