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A king among the angels
The Wilton Diptych ↗On Level 2, enter Room 51 from the Sainsbury Wing landing. Find The Wilton Diptych and pause where you can see both open panels.
Find the little white stag badges on the blue robes.
The kneeling figure in red and gold is Richard II, king of England in the late fourteenth century. Across from him, Mary holds the infant Christ among a crowd of blue-robed angels. For all its rich colour, the painting is small enough to belong to one person’s prayers.
Two wooden panels meet at a hinge. This folding form is called a diptych. It could close around its painted interior, allowing a precious image to be carried. Richard had it made for his private use, though we do not know exactly where he placed it.
Three saints introduce him to Mary and Christ. The man carrying a lamb is John the Baptist, the preacher who announced Christ’s coming. Beside him stand Edward the Confessor and Edmund, earlier English kings whom Christians honoured as saints. Richard kneels in their company.
Now pick out the white stags on the angels’ robes. The same animal appears as a jewel on Richard’s chest. It was his personal badge, worn by people who supported him. In this heavenly gathering, even the angels carry his sign.
Look again at the space between the king’s hands and the child’s raised hand. Private devotion and Richard’s belief in the sacred nature of his rule meet in that exchange. His little painted court gives him the company and protection he wanted.
Stay in Room 51 and find Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks. Face the large painting with four figures gathered among dark rocks.
To The Virgin of the Rocks
