Queen Philippa Interceding for the Lives of the Burghers of Calais

1788

Benjamin West American, 1738-1820

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About the Artwork

This painting depicts a scene from English history during the fourteenth-century siege at the French port of Calais by the English King Edward III. Dressed in white, Queen Philippa stands next to the armor-clad king with a hand outstretched toward several prisoners — the burghers, or leading citizens, of Calais. The burghers surrendered themselves to Edward, who promised to spare the populace of the city in exchange for their lives. Philippa intervened on their behalf, convincing the king to spare them in honor of their bravery and sacrifice.

American painter Benjamin West created two versions of this subject following a commission from British King George III. Since Edward III transformed the fortification at Windsor into a grand Gothic palace, the later king thought, “the achievements of his splendid reign [. . .] would prove very suitable ornaments to the halls and chambers of that venerable edifice.” West exhibited this version of the subject at the Royal Academy in 1788, and in 1789, completed a second version (Royal Collection Trust) for the Audience Chamber at Windsor.

Title Queen Philippa Interceding for the Lives of the Burghers of Calais

Artwork Date 1788

Artist Benjamin West

Life Dates 1738-1820

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 39 1/2 x 52 1/4 inches (100.3 x 132.7 cm) Framed: 47 1/2 x 59 7/8 x 3 inches (120.7 x 152.1 x 7.6 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Gift of James E. Scripps

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 89.73

Markings

Signed Signed and dated, lower left: B. West | 1788

Provenance

June 7-8, 1799, Thomas Hankey sale(Christie's, lot 20, London, England).
June 1, 1813, John Willett sale (Peter Coxe, lot 79, London, England).
James E. Scripps (Detroit, Michigan, USA);
1889-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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Published References

“A Correct Catalogue of the Works of Mr. West.” Public Characters of 1805 (1805): p. 563.

“A Correct List of the Works of Mr. West.” Universal Magazine 3 (1805): p. 529.

Barlow, Joel. The Columbiad. A Poem. Philadelphia, 1807, p. 433.

“A Correct Catalogue of the Works of Benjamin West, Esq.” La Belle Assemblee or Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine 4 (1808): p. 16.

Galt, John. The Life and Works of Benjamin West, ESQ., President of the Royal Academy of London, Subsequent to his Arrival in the Country. London, 1820, p. 224.

Scripps, James E., ed. Catalogue of the Scripps Collection of Old Masters. Exh. cat., DMA. Detroit, 1889, no. 85.

Pilgrim Tercentenary Exhibition. Exh. cat., DIA. Detroit, 1921, no. 31.

Evans, Grose. Benjamin West and the Taste of His Times. Carbondale, 1959, p. 69 (pl. 50).

Ways to Look. Exh. cat., The Des Moines Art Center. Des Moines, 1960, no. 31.

The World of Benjamin West. Exh. cat., Allentown Art Museum. Allentown, 1962, no. 17.

Milar, Oliver. The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, vol. 1. 1969, p. 133.

Dillenberger, John. Benjamin West: The Context of His Life’s Work with Particular Attention to Paintings with Religious Subject Matter. San Antonio, 1977, p. 162.

Rosenblum, Robert, and H. W. Janson. Nineteenth-Century Art. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1984, p. 19 (fig. 7).

Abrams, A.U. The Valiant Hero. Washington, D.C., 1985, p. 196 (fig. 126).

Von Erffa, Helmut and Allen Staley. Benjamin West. New Haven, Connecticut, 1986, pp. 198-199, no. 65 (ill.).

Black, Mary, et al. American Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Vol. 1, Works by Artists Born Before 1816. New York, 1991, pp. 232-234, no. 107.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Benjamin West, Queen Philippa Interceding for the Lives of the Burghers of Calais, 1788, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of James E. Scripps, 89.73.