Eye Candy for Today: Frederic William Burton’s star crossed lovers

Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs, Frederic William Burton, watercolor and gouache, 37 x 24 in. (95 x 61 cm), in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Link is to a Wikipedia page with access to a large image. Taken from a medieval ballad is the story of Hellelil, who falls in love with her bodyguard, Hildebrand. This is to the displeasure of her father, who sends Helleli’s seven brothers to kill Hildebrand. Much unpleasantness ensues. Burton has chosen a tender and poignant moment of their last embrace. The scene is intimate, almost claustrophobic. We are in the cramped space of the turrest stairs with the fated pair. The emotion is palpable. The artists has used watercolor and gouache to great effect, in an approach that could be easily mistaken for oil in reproduction. The painting is so popular in Ireland that it is put on scheduled display, unlike most works on paper that are only seen on special occasions years apart.