The Knight. The Canterbury Tales. New York, 1945.

SZYK, Arthur. The Knight [Variant]. The Canterbury Tales. Signed and Dated “Arthur Szyk, N.Y. (19)45”. Watercolor and gouache on paper. Sheet size: 7″ x 5 3/8″.   Image size: 6 5/8″ x 3″. Questionable loss of text on lower left with vertical lines on drawing, otherwise Very Good condition.

Although Arthur Szyk is known mainly for his political cartoons and religious illuminations, he produced a rich variety of literary illustrations, costume designs, and book covers during his prolific career. The Canterbury Tales is a notable and well-loved work in Szyk’s oeuvre and encompasses some of his most compelling secular illustrations. In these drawings, the viewer can appreciate Szyk’s background in costume design, as well as his ability to create drawings that allude to a larger narrative structure.

In this work the Knight stands with his palms touching before him and his head slightly bowed. The narrator describes the knight as meek and gentle, and Szyk accurately depicts this aspect of the knight’s character by lending him a humble, almost religious posture. He is dressed in a splendid multi-colored array of garments, from his silvery metal armor to his lavender tunic and the primary colors of his heraldic shield. The lavishness of his dress proclaims his military success in the crusades as well as his bravery as a warrior. The Knight’s retiring posture serves to balance the bright adornments of his uniform, and drives home our understanding of him as a just and prudent soldier.

Szyk’s meticulous perfectionism drove him to experiment with many compositional elements and design details. For important Canterbury pilgrims such as “The Knight,” this experimentation resulted in several variant illustrations. This variant version of “The Knight” — with his helmet, full body armor, and lavish Crusader colors—is much more visually compelling than “The Knight” ultimately chosen for reproduction in The Canterbury Tales (New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1946), who wears a simple cloth hat and garment over his chainmail. One wonders whether Szyk was entirely in agreement with the publisher’s decision, considering the variant was executed in his highest style.

Exhibition History: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor, December 4, 2010–March 27, 2011.

Publishing History: Newsletter, The Arthur Szyk Society, Burlingame, CA, Summer 2010, p. 10.