King Lear Weeping over the Body of Cordelia
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The Tate Gallery
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William L. Pressly, 'James Barry: Artist as Hero', London: The Tate Gallery, p 102, no. 47.
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'For his first painting for Boydell, Barry returned to his earlier depiction of a Shakespearian subject, expanding the format of his 'King Lear and Cordelia' exhibited in 1774 (cgjc0758). In the process the cast of characters has been considerably enlarged. As before, the ever faithful Kent, tears rolling down his cheeks, is placed next to Lear and Cordelia. He is now followed by two captains with the large forms of Albany and the armoured Edgar anchoring the line of mourning spectators. The evil plotters punctuate this main grouping: at Lear's feet lie the bodies of his daughters Goneril and Regan; their confederate Edmund is carried off at the left; and to the right lies the soldier slain by Lear for having killed Cordelia. The landscape too plays a greatly expanded role, adding an ennobling breadth to the design. Barry deliberately classicized the Stonehenge-like structures in the background in order to associate the ancient Britons with the nobility and grandeur of Greco-Roman civilization.' (Pressly, 102)
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Publisher: The Tate Gallery
Type of material: Image