'The highest pitch of refined emotion': The tragic romance hidden in a 19th-Century painting 84.9%
BBC - By Ondine Jean-Baptiste - 3/3/2026, 11:00 AM
How the devastating meaning of The Meeting on the Turret Stairs is unlocked by a medieval Danish ballad – and why the painting can only be viewed for two hours every week. Forget Romeo and Juliet or Rose and Jack: Frederic William Burton's achingly beautiful depiction of Hellelil and Hildebrand's last moment together will stay with you... more