The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 6, Issue 1, Winter 2017 | Page 34

signal Joan's identity and [avoided] the troubling fact that Joan's image defied
categorical representation.” 17
As noted earlier, once Joan’s Trial of Nullification reached a successful
completion, interest in her waned until the nineteenth century, at which time she
became a favorite subject of painters and illustrators. In “Saint, Soldier, Spirit,
Savior: The Images of Joan of Arc,” Elizabeth Foxwell noted that between 1850
and 1930, artists created over three hundred fifty representations of Joan’s life and
exploits, depicting her “as a defender of the monarchy, the epitome of French
courage, [the] loyal servant of God, the symbol of a united France, and liberty.” 18
Foxwell classified artistic images of Joan in three categories—“in armor,
[representing] heroic virtue, at the stake, [depicting her as a] saint, martyr, sacrifice
for France, and listening to voices [dramatizing her as a] prophet, spirit, obedient
daughter of God.” 19 She described in particular detail a mural completed in 1909
by Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel, The Vision and the Inspiration, which
includes Joan as well as St. Michael the Archangel, St. Catherine of Alexandria,
and St. Margaret. According to Joan, the voices of these three saints counselled
and guided her from the age of thirteen until the time of her death. 20
Figure 2. The Vision and the Inspiration, oil and gold leaf on canvas by Louis
Maurice Boutet de Monvel, c. 1907-1909, National Gallery of Art.
A similar painting of Joan done by Jules Bastien-LePage in 1879 depicts
Joan in her parents’ garden with the apparitions of her saints in the background.
Artistic representations of Joan have reflected not only her life but also
reinterpreted her in a multitude of symbolic and allegorical ways. In some
paintings, the artist portrays Joan in a manner reminiscent of the Virgin Mary,
while in others she appears as a chaste warrior similar to the goddess Athena.
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