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© Trustees of the David Jones Estate
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David Jones, 1895–1974, British, Sir Gareth and Lady Lionesse, ca. 1940
- Title:
Sir Gareth and Lady Lionesse
- Date:
- ca. 1940
- Medium:
- Graphite on moderately thick, moderately textured, cream wove paper
- Dimensions:
- Sheet: 24 1/4 x 19 inches (61.6 x 48.3 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed on back in graphite upper left: "140"; in graphite upper right: "< . . . > | p. 43"; in graphite lower center: "Malory Bk, VII, cp. 22 (214) began in c. 1940 | Gareth& Liones"; in graphite center right: "236"; in graphite lower right: "< . . . > | 16"
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
- Copyright Status:
- © Trustees of the David Jones Estate
- Accession Number:
- B1990.27
- Classification:
- Drawings & Watercolors
- Collection:
- Prints and Drawings
- Subject Terms:
- armor | axe | bed | candles | cross (object) | dog (animal) | drapes | fire | flowers (plants) | hands | knight (landholder) | literary theme | moon | nudes | religious and mythological subject | rosaries | stars | swords | women
- Access:
- Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:3096
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David Jones began a series of large Arthurian drawings illustrating Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur during the early 1940s when the world was mired in war. In this example the unmarried lovers Sir Gareth and Lady Lyonesse indulge in an amorous tryst, but are disturbed by a group of armed knights sent by Lady Lyonesse’s sister. Sir Gareth leaps from the bed, sword in hand, but is wounded in the struggle with his assailants. Jones thought this subject from Mallory about sexual continence and punishment was ‘of great psychological interest’ and the composition introduces elements that repeatedly contrast pain and pleasure: naked flesh with naked steel, soft fabrics and hard armor, flaming brands and roaring fires. Gallery label for Connections (Yale Center for British Art, 2011-05-26 - 2011-09-11)
Connections (Yale Center for British Art, 2011-05-26 - 2011-09-11) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
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