RSA Scottish Art
Oberon and Titania – first study for The Quarrel
 | Artist: Joseph Noel Paton |
| Title: Oberon and Titania – first study for The Quarrel | |
| Year: 1846 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
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| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Joseph Noel Paton was a painter of minutely detailed images of literary and biblical subjects. He was one of the few Scottish painters to have been influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. This painting by Paton is an interpretation of Act II, Scene 1 of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, and is a study made in advance of a final version. The artist uses deliberately muted colours to explore effects of light and shade to define the tonal qualities of the composition. This is a very detailed execution, given that it is a study. Considering it is not a finished piece, exceptional care has been taken in the rendering of the figures, even in the distant background. The composition is full of spiralling movement and incredibly detailed and intertwined figures. Paton has achieved a remarkable quality of light and Titania's wings seem to shine through the gloom of the forest as though they are the only source of light. This creates a vignette effect in the composition, where the eye is drawn to the central action at the brightest point, while other aspects retreat into darker areas around the edges. Although young artists were taught to draw the unclothed figure, this is one of very few Scottish paintings of the time to be based around nude figures. The element of fantasy in the subject matter allows Paton to create images of mythical beings and weird creatures. But notice that most of the figures are human in form. Would we be able to identify with any of these figures if they were not like us? Can you imagine using a literary subject as the subject for a drawing or painting? | |
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