Stitching the Standard

Stitching the Standard is a painting by British artist Edmund Leighton. It depicts a nameless damsel on the battlements of a medieval castle putting the finishing touches on a standard or pennant with a black eagle on a gold background. In a time of peace, the woman has taken her needlework into the daylight away from the bustle of the castle. This picture invokes all the romance of the Arthurian Legends — Camelot on a soft summer afternoon, a beautiful woman in fine flowing garments sitting atop the battlements of the castle, sewing her beloved knight’s standard. Behind the woman stands the castle tower and stretching beyond lie the fields where she eagerly awaits the first glimpse of her returning knight. 

A well-respected Victorian historical genre painter, Leighton became renowned for romantic medieval scenes. His pictures of elegant ladies in landscapes or interiors have a similar kind of charm to those of James Tissot. The painting represents a late Pre-Raphaelitism, when life was untarnished by World War I.  

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