The boyhood of Raleigh
History has held that Sir Walter Raleigh was a successful seaman and an insatiable explorer; that he was a skillful politician and also, that he performed as a merciless pirate. Poet, writer and soldier, this English nobleman played an important roll in the epic defeat of the Spanish Armada in the XVI century as well as being the responsible one for bringing back to Europe tobacco, potatoes and some other products from the new world. His position as a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I contributed, without a doubt, to his multiple reputations and all of his success, but it was, in the end, his love and fascination for the sea what really pushed him into becoming everything he has been talked about, making him a national hero and a remarkable figure in universal history.
In London, the Tate Gallery hangs proudly on one of its walls a painting that tells with exquisite detail all of this and more. A painting that has influenced, in a definitive style, my personal way of seeing the connection between narrative and individual images. To this day that canvas has been an important reference for my photographic work. The painting is called “The Boyhood of Raleigh”, executed by John Everett Millais in 1870 being also an important piece of the Pre-Raphaelite school.
The painting shows us two kids listening with deep attention to a humble man of the sea. With great animation the man is sharing fantastic tales of all the wonders and challenges beyond the coastline of Devonshire, where Raleigh was born and raised, and that is also used by the painter as a geographical starting point. Every little detail here is important: the hand pointing to the horizon, the anchor, the scaled model of a ship toy, the colorful bird that doesn’t belong to the landscape and the difference in clothing of the characters in the scene. All of this together, manages to put us into context and lead us to understanding every reason that gave life to the legend of the mighty Raleigh and his passionate existence around the sea.
Nearing the end of his life, following an unsuccessful expedition to the Orinoco River in search of “El Dorado”, a secret marriage disapproved by his mentor The Queen, and a series of political blunders, had Raleigh beheaded on October 29 1618. Years before his execution, during a previous stay in prison, he wrote the first volume of his “History of the World”. This painting is the story of that man.
February 15th 2012
