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Meregrett, Daughter of Phillipe the Bold

Date1907

Illustration Citation"The Rat-Trap," by James Branch Cabell, in Harper's Monthly Magazine, December 1907

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions35 1/4 × 23 1/4 in. (89.5 × 59.1 cm)
frame: 41 × 28 7/8 in. (104.1 × 73.3 cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, 1912

Object number1912-43

On View

On view

Label TextIn James Branch Cabell's historical fiction, English king Edward I and French king Phillipe IV are engaged in territorial conflicts. When palace intrigues frustrate planned diplomatic marriages, Edward weds Phillipe's sister Meregrett in a love match. While such a dynastic wedding did take place, primarily to ensure a truce between the two countries, Cabell's reinvents the story as a triumph of romance over politics.

Howard Pyle painted Meregrett as the story describes her, with "soft and profuse hair...eyes (like) gigantic onxes." Set against a royal gold background, her ornaments create "stray ripples of brilliancy." In her dignified stance, Pyle gives Meregrett the self-possessed air that reflects her noble heritage.