Joan of Arc has inspired artistic and cultural works for nearly six centuries. Perhaps the best-known theatrical adaptations are Friedrich Schiller’s Die Jungfrau von Orleans (The Maid of Orleans) 1801, George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan 1923, Bertolt Brecht’s Die Heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe (Saint Joan of the Stockyards) 1932, and Maxwell Anderson’s Joan of Lorraine 1946. And now, Mother of the Maid by Jane Anderson (2015).
The following photos show many depictions of Joan of Arc in theatre and film over the last 100+ years, from drawings of Sarah Bernhardt as Joan of Arc in the late 1890s to costume designer Izumi Inaba’s renderings for this production of Mother of the Maid.
From the collection of Artistic Director BJ Jones, these drawings depict Sarah Bernhardt in a late 1890’s production of JEANNE D’ARC by Jules Barbier
From the collection of Artistic Director BJ Jones, these drawings depict Sarah Bernhardt in a late 1890’s production of JEANNE D’ARC by Jules Barbier
From the collection of Artistic Director BJ Jones, these drawings depict Sarah Bernhardt in a late 1890’s production JEANNE D’ARC by Jules Barbier
Sarah Bernhardt in a late 1890s production of Jeanne d’Arc by Jules Barbier
George Bernard Shaw wrote Saint Joan for Sybil Thorndike, who was already 40 when she first played Joan, and would go on playing it until she was aged 60.
Luise Rainer as Joan at the MGM Dramatic School in 1938
Schiller’s THE MAID OF ORLEANS starring O.W.Fischer and Judith Holzmeister, 1942
Ingrid Bergman in the 1948 film JOAN OF ARC directed by Victor Fleming
1951 revival of SAINT JOAN starring Uta Hagen
Jean Seberg in a promo shot for the 1957 film version of SAINT JOAN, directed by Otto Preminger
Nancy Heusel plays Joan and Singer Buchanan plays a director in the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s production of JOAN OF LORRAINE, 1961
Mila Jovovich in the hit film THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC, 1999
Anne Troupe (Joan) and Tina Packer (Isabelle) in the world premiere of MOTHER OF THE MAID, Shakespeare and Co., 2015
Promo image for 2016 West End production of SAINT JOAN by George Bernard Shaw with Gemma Arteron
2016 Bristol Old Vic Young Company production of SAINT JOAN OF THE STOCKYARDS by Bertolt Brecht with Kate Alhadeff as Joan
2018 German theatre, Theater Bielefeld, production of Schiller’s THE MAID OF ORLEANS
2018 Broadway production of SAINT JOAN by George Bernard Shaw starring Condola Rashad