Benjamin West, 1738–1820, American, active in Britain (from 1763)
Title:
The Cave of Despair
Date:
1772
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
24 x 30 inches (61 x 76.2 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1977.14.113
Gallery Label:
As soon as Benjamin West arrived in London in 1763, he determined to define himself as a history painter. He proved remarkably successful and quickly forged a career as the leading exponent of the genre in England. The subject of this small history painting is derived from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queen (1590–96) and shows St. George, the “Redcrosse Knight of Holiness,” discovering Despair in his cave. Despair tempts all who encounter him to commit suicide. Bewitched, St. George raises his dagger to stab himself, only to be saved by the Virgin Una, the personification of True Religion. This is almost certainly the picture West exhibited with the Royal Academy in 1773. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
