“Joan of Arc”
For today, the very last painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
“Joan of Arc” is an oil on panel painting by the English Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, from 1882.
Rossetti was working on this painting while staying at a friend’s house at Birchington-on-Sea in an attempt to combat his declining health. He passed away just a few days after completing it at just 53 years old. It was found simply sitting on his easel. This piece is based on a watercolor that he did almost twenty years prior.
Rossetti used Jane Morris, the artist, William Morris‘s wife, as his model for this piece. Jane modeled for many of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. Rossetti painted the subject in a bold and strong manner. The framing of the upper half of the body is typical for Rossetti after 1860.
Joan of Arc is a French national heroine who lived in the early 15th century. Though she was born into a family of modest means in the French countryside, Joan is remembered for her leadership in several important French victories of the Hundred Years’ War.
Joan was born into a country devastated from decades of war. France and England were fighting over succession to the French throne, and as most of the fighting took place in France, the French economy was in shambles.
From the early age of 12, Joan was said to have had visions and was often visited by the angels, specifically Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who told her to drive the English out of France. At age 16, Joan visited the French court at Chinon and made some incredible predictions about the 1429 Battle of the Herrings just north of Orléans. Her correct prediction allowed her access to the French court, which she attended notoriously in male clothing.
An important aspect of Joan’s intervention in the Hundred Years’ War was that she was able to turn the English-French conflict into a religious war with ultimately much higher stakes. After a short truce with England turned sour, Joan went to Compiègne to help defend the city from the English. She was unhorsed by an archer and captured by the English. Joan was put on trial for heresy. She was found guilty and was burned at the stake in 1431 at just 19 years old.
Many people believe that because of Joan’s intervention, Charles VII was able to keep his legitimacy to the French throne. Joan was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Many chronicles of her trial survived as well as some original letters signed by her hand. All these records have provided an abundance of material for such an incredible event in history and have allowed her story to be elaborated upon.
“Joan of Arc” is currently on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England.
For more on Dante Gabriel Rossetti, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
