God Speed (painting)
| God Speed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Edmund Leighton |
| Year | 1900 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 160 cm × 116 cm (63 in × 46 in) |
| Location | |
God Speed is an oil on canvas painting by English artist Edmund Leighton, from 1900. It is held in a private collection.[1]
Composition
[edit]It depicts a Medieval scene, where an armoured (in chain mail) knight is departing to war and leaving his beloved behind. As he is leaving, she ties a red sash around the knight's arm, bidding farewell before battle. A griffin on the banister of the stairs is a symbol of strength and military courage.[2]
God Speed was the first of several paintings by Leighton during the 1900s on the subject of chivalry, including The Accolade (1901) and The Dedication (1908).[2] The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1900. When the painting was ready for transportation to the Royal Academy, Leighton made a last-moment change in the studio.[3] He scraped out the work of a week and within two hours made his desired change.[3]
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Provenance
[edit]After being bought from Leighton, the painting was owned by several people in succession and eventually was put up for sale at Christie's, in 1988.[1] It was then held in an American private collection, and in 2000 was once again submitted to Christie's for sale.[1]
In 2007, the painting appeared at Sotheby's and was sold to a British private collection.[1] On 10 May 2012, God Speed was sold again through Sotheby's in London to a private collector for £481,250.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "Lot 26". Sotheby's. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- 1 2 "Leighton | 19th century european paintings". Sotheby's. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- 1 2 Rudolph De Cordova. "The Art of Mr. E. Blair Leighton". ArtMagick. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.