Picture of the month
June 2019: The Story of Griselda, Part I: Marriage
Once upon a time, so the story goes, there was an Italian nobleman called Gualtieri, the Marquis of Saluzzo. He spent his days hunting and playing sports with no interest in settling down, despite pleas from his friends and advisors that he should marry and produce an heir.
Eventually, to please them, he agreed but privately resolved to marry Griselda, a local peasant and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her poor background he thought would spite those who were pressuring him to marry, while her good looks would make married life more bearable. However, once married, he set several trials through which Griselda had to prove her fidelity. After many twists, turns, and testing times for Griselda, during which she again and again showed her faithfulness, the story ends happily.
Our three paintings, by a still unknown artist, tell the tale of Griselda and Gualtieriās courtship, wedding, and married life. This first painting takes us up to the wedding day and begins by showing Gualtieri hunting with his retinue, silhouetted on the crest of the hill in the left background. In the foreground, the Marquis encounters Griselda returning from a well, carrying a water jug on her head and is stunned by her beauty. Over on the right, the Marquis arrives at her house and announces his intention to marry her. Griselda is shown naked, having shed her shabby clothes, and is just about to be dressed in new fine garments. At the centre, there's the finale, with the marriage ceremony taking place in front of a triumphal arch decorated with horses and gilded statuettes.
This much-loved Italian story is thought to have been passed down from generation to generation by Italian storytellers before being set down in print by the 14th-century Florentine poet Boccaccio in his series of novellas, known as the 'Decameron'. The scenes would most likely have been set into the walls of a wooden-panelled room, such as a marriage chamber, and the messages they convey about faith and constancy would have been fitting for the home of a newly wed couple.
Related events
-
Category:Tour, Paid
-
Category:Tour, Free
Daily guided tour
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays (excluding public holidays)3 - 4 pm -
Category:Talks & conversations
Women's History Month
-
Category:Course, From £70.50
Stories of art
1600-1700
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 - Wednesday, 3 April 20245.30 - 7.30 pm GMTOnline event -
Category:Course, From £35.25
Rebirth and resurrection: Easter scenes at the National Gallery
Thursday, 14 March 2024 - Thursday, 28 March 20243.30 - 5.30 pm GMTOnline event -
Category:Study day, Free
Take One Picture CPD - 2023/2024
Online sessions
Various dates, first upcomingFriday, 15 March 2024 - FULLY BOOKED1 - 4.30 pm GMTOnline event -
Category:Creative session, Free
Talk and draw
A Cup of Water and a Rose
Friday, 15 March 20244 - 5 pm GMTOnline event -
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Pause with a painting
Sandro Botticelli's 'Venus and Mars'
Thursday, 21 March 202411am11 - 11.45 am (drop-in) -
Category:Creative session, Free
Meditative mark-making
Spring awakening
Thursday, 21 March 20244 - 5.15 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Experiences
Friday Lates
Fridays -
Category:Creative session, Free
Friday Lates life drawing
2B Or Not 2B Collective
Friday, 22 March 2024Session times- 6.15 - 7 pm
- 7.15 - 8 pm
-
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Friday Lates
Serpent symbolisms: An interactive inquiry
Fully booked.Friday, 22 March 20246.30 - 8 pmFriday Lates: Serpent symbolisms: An interactive inquiry is Fully booked -
Category:Music & performance, Free
Friday Lates student takeover
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Friday, 22 March 20246.30 - 8 pm -
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Friday Lates Gallery tour
Mary Magdalene: Woman and witness
Friday, 22 March 20246.45 - 7.30 pm -
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Friday Lates tour and poetry readings
SJ Fowler and guests
Friday, 22 March 20247 - 7.45 pm -
Category:Talk, Free
Audio Art: Utterly in the picture
Master of the Story of Griselda
Tuesday, 26 March 20241 - 2 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Talk, Free
A mindful walk through painted landscapes
Members' talk and Q&A
Tuesday, 26 March 20245 - 6 pm GMTOnline eventMembers -
Category:Music, Free
Piano Day 2024 in collaboration with FLOAT
Thursday, 28 March 202412 - 5 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Creative session, Free
Easter holidays
Construct and play with Leap Then Look
Various dates, first upcomingTuesday, 2 April 202411 am - 4 pmFamilies, for all ages -
Category:Tour, Free
Easter holidays
Decoding pictures
First upcomingTuesday, 2 April 2024Session times- 11.30 am - 12.15 pm
- 1.30 - 2.15 pm
Families, ages 5 - 13 -
Category:Course, From £70.50
Thinking about art: Philosophical approaches to art history
Tuesday, 2 April 2024 - Tuesday, 7 May 20243.30 - 5.30 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Creative session, Free
Life drawing: Playing with the unfinished
Online session
Tuesday, 2 April 20246.30 - 7.30 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Creative session, Free
Easter holidays
Gold reflections
Various dates, first upcomingThursday, 4 April 202411 am - 4 pmFamilies, for all ages -
Category:Music, From £16
Bach's Flute Sonatas
Trevor Pinnock, Anna Kondrashina and Sarah McMahon
Friday, 5 April 20247 - 8.15 pm -
Category:Creative session, Free
Easter holidays
Sensory connections
Various dates, first upcomingTuesday, 9 April 202411 am - 4 pmFamilies, for all ages -
Category:Lunchtime talk, Free
Piero di Cosimo's 'A Satyr mourning over a Nymph'
Tuesday, 9 April 20241 - 1.30 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Creative session, Free
Easter holidays
Imaginative play
Thursday, 11 April 202411 am - 4 pm (drop-in)Families, for all ages -
Category:Course, From £11.75
In focus: Rembrandt
Thursday, 11 April 20245.30 - 7.30 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Talk, Free
Painted faces: Make-up through the ages
Members' talk and Q&A
Friday, 12 April 20245 - 6 pm BSTOnline eventMembers -
Category:Course, From £96
Life drawing: Playing with the unfinished
Onsite art-making course
Saturday, 13 April 202411 am - 5 pm -
Category:Talk, From £10
Curator's introduction: The Last Caravaggio
Members' talk and Q&A
Tuesday, 16 April 20244 - 5 pm BSTOnline eventMembers -
Category:Course, From £70.50
Stories of art: 1700-1800
Wednesday, 17 April 2024 - Wednesday, 22 May 20245.30 - 7.30 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Pause with a painting
Mindfulness session
Thursday, 18 April 202411 am - 12 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Creative session, Free
Creative workshop
A certain kind of light
Various dates, first upcomingThursday, 18 April 20244 - 5 pm -
Category:Creative session, Free
Talk and draw
Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist
Friday, 19 April 20244 - 5 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Music & performance, Free
Friday Lates student takeover
Re-Activate
Friday, 19 April 20246.15 - 8.15 pm -
Category:Tour, Free
British Sign Language (BSL) tour
Rembrandt
Tuesday, 23 April 20241 - 2 pm -
Category:Talk, Free
Audio Art: Utterly in the picture
Pieter de Hooch’s 'The Courtyard of a House in Delft'
Thursday, 25 April 20241 - 2 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Discussion, From £10
A livestream tour of Longford Castle
Members' live tour and Q&A
Friday, 26 April 20243 - 4.30 pm BSTOnline eventMembers -
Category:Talk, Free
Unexpected views
Friday, 26 April 20246.30 - 7.15 pm -
Category:Music, Free
Andrew Maginley and Emma Curtis
Music from the time of Caravaggio
Friday, 26 April 20247.30 - 8.15 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Talk, Free
Ten-minute talk
Curator's introduction: 'The Last Caravaggio'
Various dates, first upcomingWednesday, 1 May 202412 - 12.10 pm -
Category:Lunchtime talk, Free
Velázquez, portraitist
Friday, 3 May 20241 - 1.30 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Course, From £35.25
Caravaggio: Among the light and shadows
Thursday, 9 May 2024 - Thursday, 23 May 20243.30 - 5 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Pause with a painting
Giorgione's 'Il Tramonto (The Sunset)''
Thursday, 16 May 202411am11 - 11.45 am (drop-in) -
Category:Talk, Free
Curator's introduction
The Last Caravaggio
Tuesday, 21 May 20241 - 2 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Talk, Free
Audio Art: Utterly in the picture
Joseph Wright 'of Derby'
Thursday, 23 May 20241 - 2 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Lunchtime talk, Free
Competition and collaboration in the 'Raising of Lazarus'
Friday, 24 May 20241 - 1.30 pm (drop-in) -
Category:Talks & conversations, Free
Friday Lates tour and poetry readings
SJ Fowler and guests
Friday, 24 May 20247 - 7.45 pm -
Category:Creative session, Free
May half-term
Sensory connections
Wednesday, 29 May 202411 am - 4 pm (drop-in)Families, for all ages -
Category:Course, From £11.75
In focus: Turner
Wednesday, 29 May 20245.30 - 7.30 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Creative session, Free
May half-term
Gold reflections
Thursday, 30 May 202411 am - 4 pm (drop-in)Families, for all ages -
Category:Creative session, Free
Talk and draw
Self Portrait at the Age of 34
Friday, 31 May 20244 - 5 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Course, From £70.50
Stories of art 1800-1900
Wednesday, 5 June 2024 - Wednesday, 10 July 20245.30 - 7.30 pm BSTOnline event -
Category:Course, From £11.75
In focus: John Singer Sargent
Wednesday, 17 July 20245.30 - 7.30 pm BSTOnline event