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The boat with the dead Maid of Astolat before the palace at Westminster

The boat with the dead Maid of Astolat before the palace of Westminster.jpg

Arthur Rackham's illustration of Elaine, the dead Maid of Astolat, lying on her back in a narrow funeral barge beside Westminster Palace. Her long golden hair spreads beneath her head, and a pale, flowing gown covers her body. She rests on an ornate bed-like platform decorated with carved panels and gold tassels. Four slender corner posts rise around the bed, each topped with an angel figure. A boatman in a ragged brown tunic crouches over her, pulling a rope attached to the barge. From the stone landing above, a crowned and bearded King Arthur bends forward to look at Elaine, while Queen Guinevere, wearing a crown and green gown, stands solemnly with her hand placed in the kings. Several attendants peer over their shoulders. Dark water fills the foreground, and the subdued gold, brown, green, and purple coloring creates a mournful medieval scene.

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