Exploring Arthurian Illustration
Arthurian art, by definition, follows the written tradition—it emerged in the twelfth century, declined during the Renaissance, and was revived in Victorian England. Each time the literary Arthurian tradition changed and evolved, Arthurian artwork evolved along with it. One of the earliest examples of Arthurian artwork is the Modena Archivolt, sculpted on the Porta della Pescheria in Italy between 1100 and 1140. The Archivolt depicts a captive Guinevere being rescued by Arthur a few familiar knights of the Round Table. The sculpture was likely based on oral tradition.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, courtly influence popularized romance subjects of Arthurian art—Tristan and Isolde, Perceval, Galahad, and Lancelot—but by the advent of printing in the 15th century, Arthurian imagery was no longer associated with the elites.
Arthurian art and literature fell out of popularity until the mid-19th centry, when the Victorian art world was born. Artists, the Pre-Raphelites in particular took inspiration from Tennyson and from Malory’s Le Morte Darthur. Again, romantic characters like Galahad, Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guinevere, and, of course, Elaine, were popular. In George Frederic Watts’ Sir Galahad, the knight appears serene and angelic. His head is surrounded by white clouds, giving a subtle illusion of a halo. John William Waterhouse’s Tristan and Isolde is an adaptation of the Arthurian story—the moment when the lovers share a love potion. Both these paintings were produced during the “Arthurian revival” sparked by the Idylls of the King. In addition to paintings, book illustration was also quite popular in this period. Arthurian art experienced such a growth in popularity during the Victorian period that characters developed recognizable and repeating physical characteristics.