The Wilton Diptych: Exterior [showing the white deer]
Painted in England or northern France
Around the time of Richard's second marriage in 1396
The Wilton Diptych in the National Gallery takes its name from Wilton House, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, where it was housed between 1705 and 1929. The name of the artist and the place where it was made are unknown. It has been suggested that the painter came from Italy or Bohemia, but it is probable that the diptych was made on behalf of Richard II himself and that it was painted in England or northern France around the time of Richard's second marriage in 1396. Surviving panel paintings from northern Europe dating from the late fourteenth century are very rare.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[...]
On the other panel is a white hart, Richard II's badge. Around its neck is a crown with a chain attached. The antlers stand out from the gold ground through the effect of light and shadow created in pointillé. The hart lies in a grassy meadow strewn with flowers and mingled with rosemary thought to be in remembrance of Richard's first wife, Anne of Bohemia. The green pigment has discoloured with age.
[Source: Richard II's Treasure]
In my post: Like as the Hart and a Cacophony of Cicadas, I posted Psalm 42 where the phrase "Like as the hart" (or more precisely in the King James version "As the hart") occurs. Howell, who wrote the psalm to choral music, and whose version the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral performs, uses Like as the Hart for his composition:
The blogger A Clerk at Oxford analyzes various translations of the psalm. It is worth spending the time reading his analyses, albeit a little difficult at times.
Here is his post: Psalm Translations: Like as the hart
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------