The Figure of Tyranny in the Glorification of William and Mary: Reassessing the interpretation of Thornhill’s Painted Hall

Abstract

Sir James Thornhill’s fresco on the ceiling of the Painted Hall in Greenwich was executed during Queen Anne’s reign. The political tensions of the time crystallised in the interpretations of the allegorical figure of tyranny, at the centre of the composition. Since the unveiling of the vault in 1714, this personification has been assimilated with the French king Louis XIV although there is no iconographic evidence to support this identification. Therefore, the comparison seems to have been driven more by the political orientations of the viewers than by the painting itself. The aim of this article is to understand the issues related to the association of this figure with Louis XIV and to propose a new interpretation, more consistent with the iconographic programme as a whole.

Keywords

• James Thornhill
• Louis XIV
• Tyranny
• Painted Hall
• Jacobites