3rd June 2013
Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff
Within the cathedral is The Seed of David painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti between 1855 and 1864. The three panels were designed for the reredos of the high alter but, despite Rossetti coming back to lighten the colouring, the panels blocked out the sun so the detail was hard to see. The painting was removed and safely stored during World War II. Later the panels were positioned on the north wall of the Illtyd Chapel.
The models for the figures in the triptych were William Morris, (the head of King David), his wife Jane Burden, (the Virgin Mary). Edward Burne Jones, (the shepherd who reaches for the child’s hand) and Algernon Swinburne, (the king who kneeling is granted only to touch his feet).
Posted in William Morris by Laura