Charles I Insulted by Cromwell's Soldiers
Charles I Insulted by Cromwell's Soldiers (detail) | |
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National Gallery, London |
Charles I Insulted by Cromwell's Soldiers is an
Subject
Charles I Insulted features Charles I, the King of England, who had by 1648 lost the Second English Civil War fought against Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army, after the Battle of Preston. By January 1649, he was being put on trial for treason, and on 30 January, he was beheaded.
The painting depicts Charles in the days before his execution, being bullied and taunted by Cromwell's defiant troops, one of whom is blowing pipe smoke in his face.[1][2][3] The deposed king remains calm, holding a book which he appears to have been reading.
Ownership
History
1836 to 2009
Charles I Insulted is a large piece, painted on a canvas measuring 13 feet (4.0 m) by 10 feet (3.0 m)., also described as being nearly three metres square.[6] It was completed in 1836.[1] It was first displayed at the Paris Salon of 1837,[2][3] and in 1838 at the British Institution in London. The painting was then hung for decades as part of the semi-public Bridgewater Collection in Bridgewater House in London.[2][3][5]
The painting suffered serious damage during a Second World War German bombing raid on London. On 11 May 1941, during the last night and most deadly raid of what became known as
While stored safe and dry in Mertoun, over the next 68 years the existence of the painting was gradually forgotten about by its owners, and presumed by the art world to be lost as irreparably damaged in the raid.[2][3][5]
2009 onwards
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: needs more on the restoration post-2010.(December 2021) |
The painting was rediscovered in the summer of 2009 by National Gallery curators, after they made enquiries about the painting as they prepared a Delaroche exhibition.[3][5] The 2010 exhibition was to be the first major show on Delaroche to be held in Britain, aiming to reassess the works of Delaroche, who fell out of fashion during the early 20th century, and featuring his most famous work from the National Gallery collection, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833), which was also a rediscovered work: it had been thought lost when the Tate Gallery was flooded in 1928, and was found rolled up in 1973.[1][3][5]
On 7 June 2009 at Mertoun, it was unrolled for the first time since being moved to Scotland.[2][3][5] To the surprise of those present, the painting was largely intact, having "lost none of its intensity".[2][3] The explosion damage consisted of around 200 individual tears in the canvas, which still contained plaster fragments and dust from the blast.[1][2][3][7]
After moving the painting to London, it was restored sufficiently to be able to be displayed in the exhibition, albeit with the shrapnel scars still visible, and "somewhat yellowed by a layer of discoloured varnish".[2][5][7] Because the canvas had been rolled up for nearly 70 years, it had to be weighed down flat for six weeks.[6] The tears were then stitched together, and the canvas lined.[6]
The painting's first ever public display since rediscovery was as part of the exhibition Painting History: Delaroche and Lady Jane Grey, running from 24 February to 24 May 2010.
Reception
According to the London National Gallery, it is "one of the great paintings on themes of English history for which Delaroche had become renowned", in which Delaroche was "able to imply striking parallels between the poignant fate of Charles and the recent course of French history".
According to the National Gallery's exhibition curator Christopher Riopelle, both Charles I Insulted and Delaroche's other painting,
David Horspool of The Times, reflecting on the fate of Delaroche's Execution of Lady Jane Grey which was relegated to a basement (in which it was later flood damaged), due to Delaroche's falling fame, said "there seems no chance that [Charles I Insulted] will be rolled up and put away. Delaroche's days as the forgotten master seem to be over", predicting the rediscovered piece would be perhaps "the most exciting exhibit to go on display" in the 2010 National Gallery exhibition.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Blitzed Paul Delaroche artwork returning after 70 years". BBC News. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "A Masterpiece Recovered: Delaroche's Charles I Insulted". National Gallery. n.d. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Akbar, Arifa (24 November 2009). "Blitzed Paul Delaroche artwork restored for show". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Duke of Sutherland". London: The Telegraph. 22 September 2000. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Higgins, Charlotte (24 November 2009). "Delaroche masterpiece feared lost in war to go on show at National Gallery". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Higgins, Charlotte (23 February 2010). "National Gallery staff strike over low pay". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ a b c Horspool, David (13 February 2010). "Paul Delaroche has gone from star to pariah – and back again". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- ^ a b c "Damaged Delaroche work on show in London". Reuters. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2010.