Elgiva seized by order of Archbishop Odo
1843 – 1847
Accession number: 1980P127
Oil on millboard.
Information
This is an oil sketch for a painting exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1847. The catalogue for that exhibition gave the following explanation for this scene from Anglo-Saxon history as related in David Hume's History of England (1754-57):Archbishop Odo, to avenge the banishment of Dunstan, dissolved Edwy's marriage with Elgiva, on the plea of kinship, and sent a party of soliders into the palace, who seized the Queen, and, after branding her face, in order to destroy that fatal beauty which had seduced Edwy, forcibly conveyed her to Ireland. The painting is of particular interest as an example of an early work prior to Millais' involvement in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. A finished outline drawing of the subject, dated 1843, is also in Birmingham's collection. A pencil study for the final painting is at the Art Museum, Princeton University.
- Presented by the Public Picture Gallery Fund with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1980.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
| Association | Artist | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | John Everett Millais | - |
Literature
| Author(s) | Date(s) | Publisher | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Drawings of John Everett Millais | |||
| 1979 | The Arts Council of Great Britain, London. | p. 25. | |
| Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England. | |||
| Stephen Wildman | 1995 | Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia. | p. 76., repro. |
| The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites | |||
| Elizabeth Prettejohn | 2000 | Princeton University Press, Princeton. | p. 67. |
Related work & resources
Related works
Discuss this work
Start a discussion about this work.
You need to login to discuss this work. Click here to login.
If you are not yet registered click here to become a member.
Find out more about membership