Joan of Arc Exhibition at Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Joan of Arc exhibition is currently going on at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The extraordinariness of this young French heroine of the medieval times (circa 1412 – 1431) never seizes to touch people’s lives. Over 200 works of art in a wide variety of media is on show at the Corcoran Gallery, Washington D.C. The exhibition depicting one of the most fascinating women of all time will be on view through January 21, 2007.
Also known as Jehanne la Pucelle or Joan the Maid, Joan of Arc has been revered and admired by the French for centuries. What makes this young women’s life so inspiring is the fact how a young illiterate peasant girl went on to become a victorious army commander, and burnt at the stake for her unorthodoxy.
The theme centers around two treasures from Corcoran’s own collection of works done by the renowned French artist and illustrator Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel (1850 – 1913). His works include six oil and gold-leaf paintings depicting the life of Joan of Arc and a beautifully illustrated picture book – Jeanne d’Arc (1896).
Joan of Arc can be seen in all her roles as a fighter and true patriot to the humble peasant that she was. The life of this brave woman inspires all as a role model of strength and resilience. The exhibition begins by displaying some very early images and descriptions of the protagonist, which include illustrated manuscripts and rare books drawn from the rare collections of the Library of Congress, Bryn Mawr College, Columbia University and Harvard University. Part of the exhibition also includes facsimiles and translations of the trial transcripts that have survived the ravages of time. These documents reveal the trial that ended in condemning Joan of Arc to death for heresy in 1431. A second document shows a rehabilitation trial held 24 years later turning around the earlier judgment. Most of her life is revealed through the trial transcripts.