Castle Chateau-Gaillard

12″ x 24″
Oil on canvas

This well preserved medieval castle ruins overlooking the river Seine in Normandy France presented an idealistic view of the valley. This castle was built by Richard the Lionheart in 1197, completed in 1198. The French have a different opinion of Richard since he did most of his rampaging, marauding and destruction in France. They did however preserve the castle as a tourist attraction. There are several views of this castle that I could have chosen to paint. There is a nice view looking up from the banks of the Seine River from Les Anelys the beautiful picturesque little village below. I probably will paint this view in the future. I chose the 12″ x 24″ canvas because it gave the most complete view of the castle. The River Seine and the countryside as background gave a romantic, picturesque setting for the castle. I also painted in a tighter style because of the historic significance of the castle and the small size of this painting. Richard died in France April 6, 1199. This is another example of choosing subject matter just because I have a historical interest in Richard the Lionheart.