John Opie (1761-1807), ‘Shakspeare. Second part of King Henry VI, act I, scene IV: Mother Jour
John Opie (1761-1807), ‘Shakspeare. Second part of King Henry VI, act I, scene IV: Mother Jourdain, Hume, Southwell, Bolingbroke & Eleanor’’, 1796Source“The Conjuration, in which Margery Jourdemayne summons a demon to bring about the death of Henry VI. The other figures are: Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester; Roger Bolingbroke, cleric and astrologer; John Hume (or Home), Canon of Hereford and St Asaph and chaplain and secretary to the Gloucesters; & Thomas Southwell, physician and Canon of St Stephen’s Chapel in the Palace of Westminster. Shakespeare drew on a real trial for this episode: in 1440 Bolingbroke and Southwell drew up a horoscope for the Duchess that predicted the death of Henry, which meant her husband would succeed to the throne. The group was accused of conspiring to kill the King with necromancy; Eleanor was sentenced to life imprisonment; Bolingbroke was hung, drawn and quartered, his head displayed on London Bridge; and Margery Jourdemayne was burnt at the stake.“ (Source) -- source link
#john opie#british artists#british painters#william shakespeare#robert thew#engravers#eleanor cobham#roger bolingbroke#thomas southwell#john hume#vintage art#necromancy