Paul Delaroche (1795-1856), specialized in historical subjects and was one of the most popular French painters of the early 1800’s. One of his most famous depictions is of Lady Jane Grey, great-granddaughter of Henry VII, who became Queen of England in 1554, at the age of seventeen. Only nine days long, her reign was one of the shortest in history–she was deposed by supporters of Mary Tudor (her cousin) and found guilty of treason.
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey shows Lady Jane as she is blindfolded and guided to the block at the Tower of London. Sir John Bridges, Lieutenant of the Tower of London, talks softly to her as the executioner waits, axe in hand. To the left, her ladies-in-waiting grieve. This is a powerful and dramatic picture, in which the dark background contrasts starkly with the pale, fragile figure of Lady Jane, just moments before her life was ended. This oil painting hangs in the National Gallery in London. It has been there in the Salisbury Gallery since 1902.
***NOTE: Lady Jane resolved to become a Protestant martyr while imprisoned and was quoted before her execution on February 12, 1554: “I am assured that I shall, for losing of a mortal life, win an immortal life.”