The Two Crowns, Frank Dicksee
Link is to zoomable version on Google Art Project; downloadable high-res version on Wikimedia Commons; original is in the Tate Britain.
In a turn of the 20th century painting of a Medieval scene, the crown of a king is seen in a different light when he is struck with the sight (or vision) of a representation of Christ’s crown of thorns.
Dicksee has lavished attention on the rich pageantry of the royal procession — the intricate gleaming armor, the beauty of the women and their luxurious garments and the tossed flowers. All are, in the moralistic nature of the work, meant to contrast the temporal nature of earthly life and the vanity of wealth and power with the presence of the spiritual; but to me (and I think to the artist) they serve much better as an actual indulgence in the beauty of the physical world.
For more, see my post on Sir Frank Dicksee.
