Return from the Long Crusade. by William Bell Scott, 1811-90

Return from the Long Crusade.

William Bell Scott [?]

1861

Watercolour on paper

10 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches, 27.3 x 21.0 cm

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Commentary by Hilary Morgan

This watercolour is a small version of the watercolour exhibited at the Dudlcy Gallery's first exhibition in 1865 and which was later in the collection of James Leathart. The Illustrated London News described the exhibited work: 'More ambitious in aim is Mr. W. B. Scott's representation (69) of the return, after long absence, of a Crusader, who, half knight, half palmer, presents an appearance so grotesque as to be scarcely recognised by his astonished wife.' It added that the work'affords traces of that antiquarianism and fertile inventiveness which gives interest to this artist's wall paintings at Wallington illustrative of Northumbrian history'. In this work Bell Scott shows his affinities with the History Painting tradition. Rossetti and his followers saw the Middle Ages in terms of decorative and idyllic subjects, but Bell Scott, of an earlier generation, was interested in the possibilities for drama and narrative offered by the era. Here he represents an emotional confrontation between husband and wife, including the striking image of the son who has forgotten his father.

Bibliography

Illustrated London News, 25 February 1865.

Morgan, Hilary, and Peter Nahum. Burne-Jones, the Pre-Raphaelites, and Their Century. London: Peter Nahum, 1989. Catalogue number 29.

Last modified 26 January 2007