God Speed
Edmund Blair Leighton, 1900
God Speed shows the moment a medieval knight, already armoured in chain mail and mounted on his horse, sets out from a castle to go to war. At the foot of the stairs, his beloved ties a red sash around his arm, a farewell gesture that, according to a medieval custom, was meant to ensure that the rider would come back alive. The scene unfolds in a setting of stately architecture: the knight heads for the exit through a portcullis gateway, while a griffin on the stair banister, a figure associated with strength and military courage, watches over the departure. Leighton painted the work in 1900 and showed it that same year at the Royal Academy of Arts. It was the first of several paintings he made in the following decade on the theme of chivalry, alongside The Accolade (1901) and The Dedication (1908), which places it within the medievalising history painting that the British artist cultivated. Its later journey through the art market, with successive sales at Christie's and Sotheby's, reflects the lasting appeal it held for collectors.
- Painter
- Edmund Blair Leighton
- Date
- 1900
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Dimensions
- 160 × 116 cm
- Genre
- history painting
- Depicts
- knight, stairs, griffin, portcullis, woman, body armor, horse
