Art print reproduction of The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania by Sir Joseph Noel Paton, part of the National Galleries of Scotland collection. This art print is a beautifully presented image with a white border. Printed in high-quality 240gsm smooth matt paper with light, fine-grain surface texture.
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.
Sir Joseph Noel Paton was a highly successful artist who specialised in painting detailed compositions illustrating biblical episodes and imaginative stories based on romantic myths and legends. Paton born in Dunfermline, returned to Scotland and was appointed 'the Queen's Limner in Scotland' in 1866. His most famous paintings are of fairy subjects which enjoyed great popularity during Victoria's reign.
