Mary, Queen of Scots: The Farewell to France
About this artwork
In 1867 the Glasgow Art Union commissioned Herdman to paint four pictures to illustrate episodes from of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. The literary source for the pictures was the popular poem about Mary by the Glaswegian lawyer Henry Glassford Bell. In 1863 the Queen’s Theatre in Edinburgh had staged a series of tableaux vivants based on Bell’s poem. The success of these performances may well have prompted the Art Union’s commission to Herdman. This is the second picture in the set. It depicts the young Queen’s ill-fated return to Scotland in 1561 after the death of her first husband François II of France. In 1868, the entire set was offered as first prize to subscribers to the Union’s annual lottery.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Robert Herdman (1829 - 1888) Scottish
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title:Mary, Queen of Scots: The Farewell to France
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date created:Dated 1867
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:91.80 x 71.40 cm; Framed: 112.50 x 92.00 x 10.00 cm / 20.00 kg
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object type:
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credit line:Bequest of Miss Mary Beatrice Maude Herdman 1995
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accession number:NG 2636
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Robert Herdman
Robert Herdman
Herdman specialised in painting portraits and Scottish historical subjects, but also produced some notable landscapes in watercolour. He was a student of Robert Scott Lauder at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh and was encouraged to draw from nature. He was also strongly influenced by Lauder's...