The Attainment: The Vision of the Holy Grail to Sir Galahad, Sir Bors and Sir Perceval of the Holy Grail [from The Holy Grail Tapestries]. The last of this Arthurian series designed by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt ARA (1833-1898) and made by Morris & Co. while at Merton Abbey, 1891-94. Cotton, wool and silk, 239 x 749 cm. Jimmy Page Collection, provided for purposes of review (see bibliography). Click on the image to enlarge it.
Detail of Sir Galahad at the door. The table within looks like a communion table.
Joanna Banham explains that, as with other tapestries in the series, "Burne-Jones provided the compositions and the figures; the decorative details and the backgrounds were designed by John Henry Dearle (1859-1932), while Morris supervised the overall design and weaving of the series and was responsible for the heraldic shields in the verdure panels that hung below the figurative scenes" (36). She adds that various sources were used tfor the details of the costumes, armour and so on, but that Burne-Jones was keen not to limit the work by tying it to a particular period, so that "the scenes have a curious air of timelessness: his willowy, Botticelli-like figures are ethereal and otherworldly, occupying dark, supernaturally lit forests and interiors, and many of the details owe more to invention than historical precedents" (36-37). She points out too that the tapestry's Eucharistic associations give it a transcendental dimension.
At the time of writing, the tapestry is on display at an exhibition touring in Britain in 2022-23 under the title The Legend of King Arthur: A Pre-Raphaelite Love Story (William Morris Gallery, London; Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle; Falmouth Art Gallery).
Bibliography
Banham, Joanna. "The Arthurian Legends in Pre-Raphaelite Art." The Legend of King Arthur: Pilgrimage, Place and the Pre-Raphaelites. Ed. Natalie Rigby. Bristol: Sansom and Company, 2022. 25-39 [Review of the book accompanying the exhibition.]
Created 2 December 2022