The Daughters of King Lear
The Daughters of King Lear
In 1898 Edwin Austin Abbey painted a beautiful depiction of a scene in Shakespeare’s King Lear. The scene is of Cordelia leaving her sisters and all of court after her father, King Lear, divides his kingdom to her two elder sisters, Regan and Goneril, leaving her with nothing. This painting has been named many different names such as Cordelia’s Farewell, Scene from King Lear, and the most fitting, The Daughters of King Lear, so called in the Yale University organized collection of Abbey’s paintings. This painting is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I first viewed it. Unfortunately it was being held in viewable storage of the American Wing, and not out on display due to renovations. The painting is huge, 54 ¼ by 127 ¼ inches, and impressive. It is a different version of an emotional scene of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays, as well as a perfect example of Edwin Austin Abbey’s work.
The Daughters of King Lear is an oil on canvas painting. The scene is one of the three sisters in some sort of throne room. The sisters are saying their goodbyes, and Cordelia is being led out of the room. On the right of the painting King Lear and his court are leaving the sisters with their backs to them; Lear looks frail and old with long white hair around his shoulders, and his head is hanging as if he is shameful for his favorite daughter’s failure to proclaim her awesome love for her father. As the attendants of the king are exiting with him, all of their heads face the background of the painting, which gives the impression of the daughters, specifically Cordelia, being shunned.
Abbey added emotion to the scene by using a few visual elements. The postures of the figures, the costumes, and the facial expressions all injected extra sentiment into the characters Abbey brought to life. Abbey paid great attention to minute details in his paintings to add the perfect amount of feeling into his characters. The figures in
In 1898 Edwin Austin Abbey painted a beautiful depiction of a scene in Shakespeare’s King Lear. The scene is of Cordelia leaving her sisters and all of court after her father, King Lear, divides his kingdom to her two elder sisters, Regan and Goneril, leaving her with nothing. This painting has been named many different names such as Cordelia’s Farewell, Scene from King Lear, and the most fitting, The Daughters of King Lear, so called in the Yale University organized collection of Abbey’s paintings. This painting is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I first viewed it. Unfortunately it was being held in viewable storage of the American Wing, and not out on display due to renovations. The painting is huge, 54 ¼ by 127 ¼ inches, and impressive. It is a different version of an emotional scene of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays, as well as a perfect example of Edwin Austin Abbey’s work.
The Daughters of King Lear is an oil on canvas painting. The scene is one of the three sisters in some sort of throne room. The sisters are saying their goodbyes, and Cordelia is being led out of the room. On the right of the painting King Lear and his court are leaving the sisters with their backs to them; Lear looks frail and old with long white hair around his shoulders, and his head is hanging as if he is shameful for his favorite daughter’s failure to proclaim her awesome love for her father. As the attendants of the king are exiting with him, all of their heads face the background of the painting, which gives the impression of the daughters, specifically Cordelia, being shunned.
Abbey added emotion to the scene by using a few visual elements. The postures of the figures, the costumes, and the facial expressions all injected extra sentiment into the characters Abbey brought to life. Abbey paid great attention to minute details in his paintings to add the perfect amount of feeling into his characters. The figures in
Cited: Ermoyan, Arpi. Famous American Illustrators. Crans, Switzerland]: Published for the Society of Illustrators by Rotovision, 1997. Print. Foster, Kathleen A. "The Paintings." Edwin Austin Abbey (1852-1911): An Exhibition Organized by the Yale University Art Gallery. New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1973. 3-19. Print. ""King Lear," Act I, Scene I | Edwin Austin Abbey | All | American Paintings and Sculpture | Collection Database | Works of Art | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Metmuseum.org. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. . Marc, Simpson. "Abbey, Edwin Austin." Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, 27 Sept. 1999. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. . Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of King Lear." The Complete Works. Ed. Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.