The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania
About this artwork
Paton's painting is an imaginative interpretation of an incident in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, quarrel over the possession of a changeling (a human child, carried off to the fairy realm and replaced by a fairy child). The main figures are surrounded by a host of smaller fairy creatures, some grotesque, others beautiful, whose supernatural character excused their sensual appearance and behaviour. The painting was judged to be 'picture of the season' when exhibited in Edinburgh in 1850. Later it captivated Lewis Carroll (the author of Alice in Wonderland) who counted 165 fairies.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821 - 1901) Scottish
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title:The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania
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date created:1849
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:99.00 x 152.00 cm; Framed: 130.70 x 183.70 x 7.40 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased by RAPFAS 1850; transferred to the National Gallery of Scotland 1897
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accession number:NG 293
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Sir Joseph Noel Paton
Sir Joseph Noel Paton
Paton was a highly successful artist who specialised in painting detailed compositions illustrating biblical episodes and imaginative stories based on romantic myths and legends. His interest in achieving convincing naturalistic detail was inspired by his friend John Everett Millais, the Pre-...