Author Description

The Wilton Diptych is one of the most beautiful yet most enigmatic paintings ever made. The intricacy of detail, the refinement and subtlety of its varied techniques and decorative effects, the lushness of its colours and the exquisite tooling of the gold, all in a remarkable state of preservation, are unmatched in any of the few English panel paintings which survive from the late Middle Ages. Nor is there any comparable contemporary European panel painting. Superficially the imagery is straightforward. Richard II, who was crowned King of England at the age of ten in 1377, and deposed and probably murdered by his cousin, Henry IV, in 1399, is shown being presented to the Virgin and Child by his patron saint, John the Baptist, and two English royal saints, Edward the Confessor and Edmund. On the basis of the heraldry the diptych can probably be dated between 1395 and 1399. Yet no one knows precisely what its meaning is, or why or by whom it was painted. What is the significance of the recently discovered symbol of England painted in the tiny orb above the banner? Why does the Child's halo contain the crown of thorns and three nails of his Passion? Why does the broomcod motif, the livery of the King of France, Richard's father-in-law, feature so prominently together with Richard's own personal emblem of the white hart? The author explores evidence from a wide range of iconographical sources - paintings, sculpture, stained-glass windows, manuscripts and other artefacts - which helps to clarify the diptych's meaning. As a result of recent investigations by the Gallery's Scientific and Conservation Departments, valuable technical information is presented about the materials used in thepainting, which both has a bearing on its origin and serves to emphasise the extraordinary craftsmanship of the diptych.