Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Frederic William Burton
| Year |
1864
|
| Size |
95.5 x 60.8 cm
|
| Medium |
Watercolour and gouache on paper
|
| Provenance |
Bequeathed, Miss Margaret Stokes, 1900
|
| Number |
NGI.2358
|
VISITOR NOTICE
Please note that The Meeting on the Turret Stairs is not available to view while the Milltown and Dargan Wings are closed for essential maintenance. Apologies for any disappointment that this might cause.
The Beit and Millennium Wings remain open as usual. Find out more information here
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The subject is taken from a medieval Danish ballad translated by Burton’s friend Whitley Stokes in 1855, which tells the story of Hellelil, who fell in love with her personal guard Hildebrand, Prince of Engelland. Her father disapproved of the relationship and ordered her seven brothers to kill the young prince. Burton chose to imagine a romantic moment from the story before the terrible end: the final meeting of the two lovers. Although he never painted in oils, the intensity of hue is similar to that of an oil painting. The precise layering of watercolour reflects his early training as a miniaturist.
