12/02/2023
An innocent young victim on the brink of martyrdom 🕊️
Lady Jane Grey reigned for just nine days as Queen of England following the death of Edward VI in 1553. Only 17 years old, she was overthrown by supporters of Edward's half-sister, Mary Tudor and was tried for treason. Lady Jane was beheaded at Tower Hill on 12 February 1554.
The French painter, Paul Delaroche, dramatically depicts the final moments of the blindfolded Lady Jane. She is guided towards the executioner's block by Sir John Brydges, Lieutenant of the Tower. She is the visual focus of the painting, as the bright sheen of her white satin petticoat stands out from the oppressive gloom. Beside her, her lady-in-waiting has slumped to the ground in despair, while a second figure stands facing the wall, unable to watch. To the right, the executioner stands waiting, his axe chillingly balanced beside him.
Using a shallow stage-like space, theatrical lighting and life-size figures, Delaroche plays up the spectacle of the scene. His choice of British subject matter reflects the French fascination with English culture in the 1820s and 1830s. Contemporary French viewers would also have been alert to the parallels between Tudor history and relatively recent events in France after the Revolution of 1789 – most obviously, the similar fates of Lady Jane Grey and Marie-Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI: https://bit.ly/3mDhBzo
