The 19th century's Victorian England revived interest in medieval traditions and myths, including King Arthur and the knights of the round table. British artist Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale painted a set of watercolor illustrations that were published in an edition of Idylls of the King, A collection of poems about the legend of King Arthur, written by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Focusing on a special edition from 1913, this essay aims to explore the intermedial relationship between word and image through a comparative study of Brickdale's illustrations and Tennyson's poem. With questions centering around the rise of book illustration, the relationship between the two mediums and how these aspects affect the viewers reception. The material for analysis includes five of Brickdale's illustrations from the "Elaine-idyll” of Tennyson's collection, as well as other artists interpretations andillustrations for comparison.

This study compares and analyses four portraits of Émilie du Châtelet and four of Madame de Pompadour who were two of the most learned and privileged women of their time. The analysis is based on Erwin Panofsky’s iconological method of analysis of art and looks at the impact of gender related conventions that influenced portraiture in the early 18th century. The overall aim of this study is to answer these questions: What differences and/or similarities can be found among their portraits? Why do only relatively few portraits of Émilie du Châtelet exist? What emphasized these two ladies’ status and the unique position as femmes savantes and how did tradition influence their portraits? Education was a male privilege. How was the female equivalent formed? How did their portraits correspond to the male counterpart? Émilie du Châtelet’s portrait of Marianne Loir is the only one that was painted by a female artist. How did that influence the portrait and what distinguishes it from the other portraits? The study shows that the paintings’ compositions follow the convention of the early 18th century portraiture. Both Émilie du Châtelet and Madame de Pompadour are presented according to the rules that applied to their social and cultural status. A number of relevant symbols were added to their figures in order to mark their unique position as learned women.