Study for 'The Burial of Charles I', ca. 1856

Charles Lucy (1814 - 1873)

RA Collection: Art

A black and white chalk drawing of the legs of a man wearing high boots, trousers and a tunic. As the inscription on the verso suggests, this is a study for Charles Lucy's painting The Burial of King Charles the First (also known as The Burial of Charles I at St George's Chapel, now in a private collection) which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1857.

This drawing is for the legs of the Cromwellian soldier who dominates the centre of the composition. This figure stands behind the grave and looks sternly towards the cleric on his right, placing his hand across the bible or liturgical book which the latter holds. This presumably refers to the fact that Charles I was denied funeral rites, leading Royalists to complain that he had been simply 'interred' rather than properly buried.