Meregrett, Daughter of Phillipe the Bold

Meregrett, Daughter of Phillipe the Bold
Meregrett, Daughter of Phillipe the Bold

Meregrett, Daughter of Phillipe the Bold

Date1907
Artist (American illustrator, 1853–1911)
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
ClassificationsPAINTING
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.

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