Mainly Museums - A Treasure of the National Gallery: The Wilton Diptych, Richard II and Late Medieval Kingship

A Treasure of the National Gallery: The Wilton Diptych, Richard II and Late Medieval Kingship

Above photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9787100

Founded in 1824, the National Gallery is home to one of the world’s most vibrant and eclectic collections. Pieces date from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries and the Gallery houses over 2,600 items, including van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus, Turner’s Fighting Temeraire and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. From the connoisseur of Renaissance art to the enthusiast of the French impressionists, there is something for everyone at the National Gallery.

The medievalist is no exception and the National Gallery has an impressive collection of late medieval artworks. These include items such as Botticelli’s Venus and Mars and di Bonaiuto’s The Virgin and Child with Ten Saints, as well as a stunning collection of diptychs and triptychs. On every visit to the National Gallery, I never miss an opportunity to visit Holbein’s The Ambassadors (for this has always been my favourite sixteenth-century piece to use when illustrating to undergraduate students key themes of the Renaissance), yet I am always repeatedly drawn to Room 51. In Room 51 you will find some of the National Gallery’s earliest pieces, of which several works, like altarpieces and crucifixes, were created for Christian worship. There is one item, in particular, within this space that never fails to capture my attention.

This is none other than the renowned Wilton Diptych. As a medieval historian, I am fascinated by the message and symbolism that the Wilton Diptych carries, for it is an excellent insight into the mind of a medieval king. A key feature of several conference papers that I gave over the years as a doctoral student, the Wilton Diptych is an excellent portrayal of how Richard II conceptualised ideas of kingship, as well as his own power and status as a divinely ordained ruler.

Before I discuss the Wilton Diptych in more detail, however, let me give you a bit of background on Richard II. Born in 1367, Richard II (also known as Richard of Bordeaux) became king following the death of his grandfather, Edward III, in 1377. He came to the throne as a minor as his father, Edward of Woodstock (known as the Black Prince), died in 1376 and it was Richard, aged 10 at the time, who was heir apparent. During his reign, England experienced a variety of tumultuous events including, but not limited to, the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the Merciless Parliament of 1388, the city of London losing its liberties in 1392, and, of course, Richard II’s very own deposition at the hands of Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) in 1399. Whilst views of Richard II have been influenced by William Shakespeare’s history play about this medieval king, he clearly did have an awareness of his personal authority, maintaining his own illustrious notion of kingship throughout his reign.

It is not surprising to the viewer that in this image, Richard II is at the centre of what is happening and that he is presented to the Virgin Mary, Child and eleven angels by three saints. The choice of saints in the Wilton Diptych is also telling, for they include (from left to right) Edmund the Martyr, Edward the Confessor and John the Baptist, the latter being Richard’s own personal saint. Edward the Confessor, especially, was of particular significance to Richard and we see that the King was devoted to the cult of this medieval saint and last Saxon king.

Richard II surrounded by (from left to right) Edmund the Martyr, Edward the Confessor and John the Baptist

Moreover, we see that Richard II associated himself with this divine saint through the depiction of Richard II’s arms on the outside panels of the Wilton Diptych being infused with those of Edward the Confessor.

Imagery and symbolism are key elements in the Diptych. This extends on to the opposite panel where we find the figures of the Virgin, Child and eleven angels surrounding these two figures. Like Richard, the angels in the image wear broomcod collars (the livery of Charles VI, King of France, whose daughter, Isabella of Valois, was Richard II’s second wife) around their necks are the badge of the white hart, Richard’s personal symbol and livery, on their robes. The image is full of icons illustrating his regal status and authority.

In the Diptych, you will also notice that the angel standing, looking directly at the Child, is holding St. George’s standard. Of course, this is significant in that the cross of St. George was a vital national emblem yet the orb that surmounts the standard tells a wider story. Within the orb there is an island, with two white turrets and trees in the background. The island is also surrounded by sea and we can see that a ship is featured also. Whilst there is contention over what the island signifies (some historians argue that the island represents Ireland, where Richard II was campaigning around the time it is believed the Wilton Diptych was made), it is possible that the island symbolises the kingdom of England, for by the late fourteenth century, it was common belief that England was the dowry of the Virgin. It is fitting then, that within the Diptych we seem to see an exchange between Richard II and the Virgin and Child, whereby St. George’s standard and its orb lay between them. If we are to think of the orb as representing the concept of nationhood and the relationship between king, realm and subject more generally, we can conclude that not only is the image a reminder to Richard of his very own sense of kingship but, also, of his duty to guard the realm for which he was responsible.

What is particularly striking and captures the viewer’s eye is Richard’s youth in the image. By the time the Wilton Diptych was made in the 1390s (it is argued that it was made sometime after 1395), Richard II would have been 28 and was recorded as having a beard and moustache. In the Diptych, therefore, Richard is shown as he was when a youth, potentially when he was first crowned. We can therefore surmise that the decision to portray Richard as a child was a deliberate decision and again is indicative of the Diptych as a reflection of Richard II’s preoccupation with his kingship. The entire image encapsulates what Dr. Dillian Gordon, an art historian, has called Richard’s ‘own exalted ideas of kingship’.

Whilst an extremely lavish and luxurious item, the Wilton Diptych’s primary function was one of religious and personal devotion to the King. This was a portable item that the King could have taken with him and which would have constantly reminded and justified for him his God-given right to rule.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Wilton Diptych, the National Gallery published an excellent volume about this artwork that contains a range of essays that examine the Wilton Diptych’s historical context, iconography and style. Whilst visits to galleries, museums and exhibitions may be limited, make sure the next time you visit the National Gallery to wander into Room 51 and view the Wilton Diptych in all its glory!

Museum Information

Opening Times:

Open daily from 11am-6pm

Open Fridays from 11am-9pm

Address:

The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square,

London,

WC2N 5DN

Web: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

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Daniella Marie Gonzalez

Dr Daniella Marie Gonzalez completed her PhD, titled ‘Common Profit and Civic Governance in Ricardian London, c.1376-c.1391’, at the University of Kent in 2020. She is interested in the history of medieval London, focusing particularly on political language and the way that ideas of common profit are expressed within civic records. Daniella is also the Social Media Fellow of the British Association for Local History (BALH) and Communications Officer of the Archives and Records Association’s Section for New Professionals. Following the completion of her doctorate, Daniella has also been involved in several archival projects, working alongside Special Collections & Archives at the University of Kent, The National Archives, the Heritage Lottery-Funded ‘Resonate’ project with the Leonard Cheshire Archives and Gibraltar National Archives. She is committed to pursuing a career in the archive sector and is currently undertaking a distance learning MA in Archive Administration with Aberystwyth University.

You can follow Dr Gonzalez on her blog The Archive Diaries and on Twitter (@Deegonz92).