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Sir William Quiller Orchardson
The Queen of the Swords
1877The elegant formal dance performed in this picture contrasts with the lively jigs in ‘The Penny Wedding', yet both images reflect an interest in Scottish social life and traditions. This painting was inspired by a passage in ‘The Pirate', a novel by the famous nineteenth-century writer Sir Walter Scott. The country dance which Scott described required its female participants to pass under an arch of drawn swords. Orchardson was a Scottish artist who made his name in London. He is best known for his imaginary reconstructions of Shakespearean scenes, and of eighteenth-century history and social life. Whereas Scott's novel was set in the seventeenth century, Orchardson changed the action to the 1700s.
- Glossary (1 term)
- Open
Draughtsmanship
The ability to draw skilfully, often refers to technical drawing.
- Glossary (4 terms)
- Open
Expression
Any act of representation in words, images, music or other means, particularly the representation of emotions or feelings in a lively manner.
Narrative art
An artwork that tells a story.
Royal Academy
An independent institution founded in 1768 with Sir Joshua Reynolds as its first president. It is governed by the Royal Academicians - leading painters, sculptors, printmakers and architects, which number no more than 80 at one time. It organises exhibitions at its London galleries, including an annual Summer Exhibition.
Trustees' Academy
The Trustees? Academy was founded in Edinburgh in 1760 by the Board of Trustees for the Improvement of Fisheries and Manufactures in Scotland. This was the earliest publicly funded art school in Britain, but during the early years it was essentially an elementary drawing school dedicated to applied design. The students included practical craftsmen as well as fine artists. The school gradually developed more facilities for advanced fine art education, including a plaster cast collection. In 1826, it relocated to a new building on The Mound, which was erected by the Board. The Trustees? Academy was reformed in 1858, using the well established government Schools of Design in London as its model, and was the direct ancestor of Edinburgh College of Art, established in 1907.
- Credits Purchased 1910
- Medium Oil on canvas
- Size 48.80 x 81.90 cm (framed: 83.50 x 116.50 x 9.00 cm)
