The Execution of Lady Jane Grey

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey is an oil painting by Paul Delaroche, completed in 1833, which is now in the National Gallery in London. It was enormously popular in the decades after it was painted, but in the 20th century realist historical paintings fell from critical favour and it was kept in storage for many decades, for much of which it was thought lost. Restored and displayed again since 1975, it immediately became a highly popular work once again, especially with younger visitors.

The painting interprets the moments preceding the death of Lady Jane Grey, who on 10 July 1553 had been proclaimed Queen of England, only to be deposed nine days later and executed on 12 February 1554. Jane is sometimes referred to as the "Nine Days' Queen" due to the brevity of her reign.

Subject

Lady Jane Grey was a great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England and first cousin once removed to his grandson, the short-lived Edward VI. After Edward's death she was proclaimed queen, being given precedence over Henry VIII's daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Two weeks after the death of her brother, Mary, who had the support of the English people, claimed the throne, which Jane relinquished, having reigned for only nine days. Jane, her husband Lord Guilford Dudley, and her father, were imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of high treason. Jane's trial was conducted in November, but the death penalty handed to her was temporarily suspended. In February 1554, Jane's father, who had been released, was one of the rebel leaders in Wyatt's rebellion. On Friday 12 February, Mary had Jane, then aged 17, and her husband beheaded. Her father's beheading followed eleven days later.

Treatment

In 1833 Delaroche painted the subject of Lady Jane's execution, nearly 300 years after the event, drawing upon contemporary historical sources to help him portray it accurately. Delaroche had built his reputation in the Paris salon with large, realistic portrayals of famous events from the previous few centuries. As with many artists of the time that specialized in the painting of historical narratives, there are aspects of the scene which were invented to heighten the symbolism and drama. While imprisoned in the Tower, Jane was attended by ladies in waiting, one of whom was the nursemaid of her infancy. Two ladies in waiting are depicted in the painting, showing their grief at the event which is about to take place.

The execution was conducted in the open air, in a part of the grounds of the Tower of London that is known as Tower Green, and where Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard had been executed. Delaroche instead chose a darker environment to heighten the psychological weight of the dark subject matter, much as a scenographer would for a stage play.

In the picture, the execution is taking place upon a raised wooden platform similar to those on which executions of royalty and nobility had taken place in the French Revolution. The edge of this platform can be seen, draped with a black cloth, across the foreground of the picture. At the rear of the pictorial space the handrail of stairs descends, and the tops of two weapons indicate the presence of guards. Delaroche includes a detail about the Tower of London that associates it with its founder William of Normandy. In the painting, two stout Norman columns with cushion capitals, a blind arcade, and a large chevroned arch create a backdrop indicative of the antiquity of the site. His choice of this building from several within the Tower of London that span the reigns of many monarchs seems intentional and may be for stylistic or symbolic reasons, since the execution actually took place outside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, which was constructed not at the time of William the Conqueror but by order of Henry VIII nearly 500 years later.

It is difficult to ascertain by the setting and the lighting whether it was the artist's intention to create the impression that the scene was taking place outside a building or in an interior. The architectural features shown can occur on both interiors and exteriors of Norman buildings. The darkness of the upper part of the painting is suggestive of an interior, while the light that bathes the central figure is daylight. Ghislaine Kenyon, head of education at the National Gallery, commented on the sense of foreboding that the darkness was intended to create. It was bought by his son, William Eaton, 2nd Baron Cheylesmore, who bequeathed it to the National Gallery, London in 1902, with four other paintings, including two other Landseers from his father's collection.

The painting was thought to have been destroyed in the disastrous flooding of the Tate Gallery during the 1928 Thames flood, and it was only rediscovered in 1973 by Tate Gallery curator Christopher Johnstone. He was writing a book on the British painter John Martin and examining the damaged canvases remaining from the flood in search of a missing painting by the artist. He found Martin's The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, albeit in very poor condition, rolled inside the Delaroche painting. The latter was in much better condition and was transferred to the National Gallery, where it should have gone when the national art collections were rationalised following the establishment of the Tate. This painting is also directly inspired by David Hume's 'Mary, Queen of Scots at the execution block' from 1795.

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey

Subject

Treatment

See also

Notes

Further reading