Don’t we all love the stuff of myth and legend? Certainly did King Arthur & William Morris.
Fantastic exhibition at Falmouth Art Gallery Cornwall.
The stunning highlight of this exhibition was a series of tapestries created by William Morris and Edward Byrne-Jones now owned by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and kindly loaned to Falmouth for this exhibition.
The ‘Quest for the Holy Grail‘ Tapestries …
King Arthur & William Morris
Nothing surpasses all the tales and stories than that of King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table.
And look at the tale of The Lady of Shallot. Confined in a tower and only allowed to look outside through a mirror. Then she sports Lancelot … here’s the story …
King Arthur rests peace supposedly in Glastonbury and the Isle of Avalon. An area super rich in tales, legends, the Holy Grail, Joseph of Arimathea and even the possibility of a visit by Jesus whilst trading in the West Country before his missionary work.
King Arthur, born to King Uther in Tintagel Cornwall. Defender of the ancient Britons following the demise of the Roman occupation in 410 against the Saxon hordes of Hengist and Horsa whose tribes eventually took over England and settled this rich land.
King Arthur who will rise from his rest when England is once again in peril.
Meanwhile, the romanticists have taken over the cause and have created the celebrity in Arthur. And don’t we need it in these fraught and uncertain times?
His legend, his image, his story and everything surrounding him – his knights, his love for Guinevere, Mordred, the sword in the stone, the Lady of the Lake – all rich and wonderful weaving of a remarkable colourful story.
The like of which we love to hold onto, to allow it to become part of the fabric of our being, to give a little depth and meaning to our lives, a little security and above all – a romance.
The late Victorians took hold of this legend big time and no better epitomised than in these works displayed at the Falmouth Art Gallery.
Indulge in the good versus the bad, soak up the romanticism, feed on the colour and welcome the stuff of legend. Who knows, maybe it was true.
King Arthur & William Morris
