Terms and conditions of use
La Belle Yseult
1863
Medium
oil on wood panel
Measurements
35.4 × 27.9 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased by the Commissioners of Fine Arts for Victoria, 1864
Gallery location
19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
In Celtic, Arthurian and medieval French legend, the Irish princess Yseult (also known as Iseult or Isolde) symbolized great beauty and virtue. Arthurian legends were very much in vogue during the Victorian era, and the romantic tale of Yseult and her great love, Tristan, was a popular subject for artists and poets alike, and was the focus of one of Wagner’s finest and best-loved operas. In this portrait-like study, John Bedford has portrayed Yseult with a fair complexion and wavy hair, the ideal of feminine beauty at the time.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in red paint l.l.: 18 BJB (monogram) 63
Accession Number
p.300.3-1
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
History and Legend Human Figures
Subjects (specific)
beauty busts (general, figures) literary characters Medievalism princesses three-quarter views women (female humans) wreaths (costume accessories)
Provenance
Exhibited Royal Academy, London, 1864, no. 26; purchased from the artist, by Sir Charles Eastlake, for the NGV, 1864.
Exhibited: Royal Academy, London, 1864, no. 26; Fine Arts Gallery (Compartment 10), Intercolonial Exhibition, Melbourne, 1866, no. 313; First Loan Exhibition of Works of Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1869, no. 492; The First Collections: The Public Library and the NGV in the 1850s and 1860s, Melbourne University Gallery, Melbourne, 1992, no. 2.