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Free Essays - Arts Essays
Painting of the Field of Cloth-of-Gold
It is thought by some that the Field of Cloth-of-Gold was an approach Cardinal Wolsey advised King Henry VIII to take instead of the very expensive trait of going to war. The meeting itself took place in Calais.
In the painting of the field of the cloth of gold, we can clearly see the magnificence of the day itself in the landscape. The Two big castle looking tents decorated with gold cloth and gems where put up for each of the Kings as a display of their wealth. Henry VIII’s tent was a temporary palace and was surrounded with golden furnishings. The surrounding melee of their loyal subjects, show how popular both Henry VIII and Francis I were with their people and six thousands of these people where King Henrys entourage alone.
Each of the other tents set around the surrounding areas where made of a cloth, woven with golden threads, thus giving the name, Field of Cloth-of-Gold.
This cloth was extraordinarily expensive, and was normally reserved for clothes or tapestries, and so the extravagant use of them added to the image of wealth and power that Henry VIII set out to portray.
The painting was very significant for this time as it showed the event in which Henry VIII and Francis I signing a treaty of alliance with one another. The meeting took place at the seaport of Calais and the little area around it known as the "English pale." The castle of Guisnes stood just within the English border and was where Henry would set up camp, Arde was the town near the English pale where Francis was to be the settled and the meeting between the two Kings took place at the line of separation of England and France. The meeting also played a purpose in showing Henry in all his majesty. We can see this depiction in the paining as he is shown riding in on a white horse, with both himself and the beast draped in gold. The painting can be used as an interesting view into how Royalty and gentry saw themselves.
The meeting lasted for around three weeks and during this time, the entourage of both kings were to behold some spectacular incidents.
Each King would entertain each others wives, and stove to out do each other with marvellous displays of wealth and power.
Those at the event would behold feasts and jousting in amongst others including balls and military displays and at the very front of the painting, we can view people leaning and drinking from the fountain of wine.
The painting also portrays a flying dragon in the sky, which would be the depiction of the fireworks that were also on display at the end of the event itself..
In amongst all the events, it seemed that Henry VIII and Francis I where still distrustful of each other, only setting foot on the others land, if the king of that area was elsewhere, i.e. When both kings where entertaining each others wives. It was Francis I who put a stop to this, and went to Henrys Tent early one morning without chaperone and proclaimed himself Henrys prisoner. Henry VIII is said to have returned the compliment and from that moment, everyone intermingled with each other, the line having been crossed.
So expensive where the events that both the Kings treasuries where nearly ruined, and the impact was politically ineffective and the two countries where at war again within two years.
One of the most well known occurrences during the meeting is when Henry VIII challenged Francis I to a wrestling match, which Francis I promptly won. It is thought that this is the reason that in only a few weeks after the magnificent displays, Henry VIII would have pledged alliance with Charles V, Therefore breaking the treaty.
A professor named Sydney Anglo believed that the paintings may have been commissioned several years after the event, as some of the images portrayed in the painting where historically inaccurate. In fact, according to some historic resources,
The painting was not recorded to be commissioned by the king until several years after the event had happened.
At the time the event would have been spectacular to behold and the painting has stayed on of the most well known of its time.
Bibliograpghy:
- Angelo, S.(1966). 'The Hampton Court painting of The Field of the Cloth of Gold considered as an historical document', Antiquaries Journal, XLVI, 287-307.
- Starkey,D. ‘The field of Cloth of Gold, 1520', in David Starkey, ed., Henry VIII : a European Court in England ( 1991), pp. 50-53.
- Withington, R.(1919), English Pageantry: An Historical Outline,Harvard University Press P173
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