Painting History: Delaroche and Lady Jane Grey

Nice exhibition at the National Gallery which put the painting “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Delaroche into the context of its time.

I must admit I was not very excited at the idea of this exhibition but it was really good. I knew very little about the art world at this time and learnt a lot which made me appreciate the picture more. I was interested in the way the art reelected the theatre of the time but then the theatre started to base works on the pictures. It is very easy to look at pictures with a modern eye and forget what was happening around them when they were painted.

I was also interested in the idea that although these were paintings of stories in history they also reflect how people were reacting to current events of the time.

I had always found the picture quite kitsch but put into context it is a more rounded piece of work.

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