Tristram and Isoude stained glass panels
Encyclopedia
The Tristram and Isoude stained glass panels are a series of 13 small stained glass
windows made in 1862 by Morris, Marshall, Faulker & Co.
for Harden Grange, the house of textile merchant Walter Dunlop, near Bingley
in Yorkshire, England. Depicting the legend of Tristan and Iseult
, they were designed by six of the leading Pre-Raphaelite
artists of the day, to an overall design by William Morris
. Since 1917 the panels have been held by Bradford Art Gallery
.
panels depict scenes from the story of Sir Tristram and la Belle Isoude
as told in Sir Thomas Malory
's Morte d'Arthur
. They were commissioned by Walter Dunlop, a Bradford
textile merchant, for a new music room to be built at Harden Grange, his house near Bingley, Yorkshire
, and were designed and executed in 1862 by Morris, Marshall, Faulker & Co.
, the decorative arts firm established the year before by the Pre-Raphaelite
artist William Morris
in partnership with Dante Gabriel Rossetti
, Edward Burne-Jones
, Ford Madox Brown
, Philip Webb
, Charles Faulkner
and Peter Paul Marshall
.
This was the firm's first commission for windows for a private residence, or with a non-ecclesiastical subject, and Morris provided Dunlop with a hand-written programme for the proposed work headed "Short abstract of the Romance of Tristram", with marginal annotations suggesting the pictorial possibilities of the story.
To design the cartoon
s or preparatory drawings for the individual panels, Morris turned to four of the artists who had worked with him in 1857 on another project based on the Arthurian legend
as retold by Malory, the Oxford Union murals
—Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Val Prinsep
and Arthur Hughes
—plus his partner Madox Brown. Morris himself designed four of the 13 panels and maintained the cohesiveness of the series through his overall design, matching text blocks, placement of the lead lines, and selection of colours, including deep ruby-reds and olive greens.
The subjects of the 13 panels and their designers are:
The Tristram and Isoude windows were acquired by the Bradford Art Gallery
in 1917, along with documentation relating to the subject matter of the panels and their installation, including the "Short abstract".
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows made in 1862 by Morris, Marshall, Faulker & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
for Harden Grange, the house of textile merchant Walter Dunlop, near Bingley
Bingley
Bingley is a market town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
in Yorkshire, England. Depicting the legend of Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
, they were designed by six of the leading Pre-Raphaelite
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
artists of the day, to an overall design by William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
. Since 1917 the panels have been held by Bradford Art Gallery
Cartwright Hall
Cartwright Hall is the civic art gallery in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, situated about a mile from the city centre in the Manningham district....
.
Details
The 13 small stained glassStained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
panels depict scenes from the story of Sir Tristram and la Belle Isoude
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
as told in Sir Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author or compiler of Le Morte d'Arthur. The antiquary John Leland as well as John Bale believed him to be Welsh, but most modern scholars, beginning with G. L...
's Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
. They were commissioned by Walter Dunlop, a Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
textile merchant, for a new music room to be built at Harden Grange, his house near Bingley, Yorkshire
Bingley
Bingley is a market town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
, and were designed and executed in 1862 by Morris, Marshall, Faulker & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
, the decorative arts firm established the year before by the Pre-Raphaelite
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
artist William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
in partnership with Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
, Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
, Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
, Philip Webb
Philip Webb
Another Philip Webb — Philip Edward Webb was the architect son of leading architect Sir Aston Webb. Along with his brother, Maurice, he assisted his father towards the end of his career....
, Charles Faulkner
Charles Joseph Faulkner
Charles Joseph Faulkner was a mathematician and fellow of University College, Oxford and a founding partner of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co....
and Peter Paul Marshall
Peter Paul Marshall
Peter Paul Marshall was a Scottish civil engineer and amateur painter, and a founding partner of the decorative arts firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co....
.
This was the firm's first commission for windows for a private residence, or with a non-ecclesiastical subject, and Morris provided Dunlop with a hand-written programme for the proposed work headed "Short abstract of the Romance of Tristram", with marginal annotations suggesting the pictorial possibilities of the story.
To design the cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s or preparatory drawings for the individual panels, Morris turned to four of the artists who had worked with him in 1857 on another project based on the Arthurian legend
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
as retold by Malory, the Oxford Union murals
Oxford Union murals
The Oxford Union murals are a series of mural decorations in the Oxford Union library building. The series was executed by a team of Pre-Raphaelite artists including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones...
—Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Val Prinsep
Valentine Cameron Prinsep
Valentine Cameron Prinsep, often known as Val Princep, was a British painter of the Pre-Raphaelite school.-Early life:...
and Arthur Hughes
Arthur Hughes
Arthur Hughes may refer to:*Arthur Hughes *Arthur Hughes , English footballer for Bolton Wanderers, Southampton and Manchester City*Arthur Hughes , Chirk F.C...
—plus his partner Madox Brown. Morris himself designed four of the 13 panels and maintained the cohesiveness of the series through his overall design, matching text blocks, placement of the lead lines, and selection of colours, including deep ruby-reds and olive greens.
The subjects of the 13 panels and their designers are:
- The Birth of Sir Tristram (Hughes)
- The Fight between Sir Tristram and Sir Marhaus (Rossetti)
- The Departure of Tristram and Isoude from Ireland (Prinsep)
- Tristram and Isoude drink the Love Potion (Rossetti)
- The Marriage of Tristram and Isoude Les Blanches Mains (Burne-Jones)
- The Madness of Tristram (Burne-Jones)
- The Attempted Suicide of La Belle Isoude (Burne-Jones)
- The Recognition of Tristram by La Belle Isoude (Burne-Jones)
- At the Court of King ArthurKing ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
(Morris) - King Mark slays Tristram (Madox Brown)
- The Tomb of Tristram and Isoude (Burne-Jones)
- Queen GuenevereGuinevereGuinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
and Isoude Les Blanches Mains (Morris) - King Arthur and Sir Launcelot (Morris)
The Tristram and Isoude windows were acquired by the Bradford Art Gallery
Cartwright Hall
Cartwright Hall is the civic art gallery in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, situated about a mile from the city centre in the Manningham district....
in 1917, along with documentation relating to the subject matter of the panels and their installation, including the "Short abstract".