THIS PAINTING IS THE LAST IN THE SERIES AND BRINGS THE "ART FROM THE VICTORIAN ERA" BLOG TO AN END. 

It will be replaced tomorrow by

SING ME A SONG OF BONNIE SCOTLAND

singmeasongofbonniescotland.blogspot.com

EVELYN de MORGAN 1855-1919

No.20

The Sea Maidens

This painting may refer to the story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Anderson. The little mermaid falls in love with a shipwrecked prince and desperately wants to be human. Helped by a witch, she changes her tail into legs, but as a forfeit she loses the power of speech and is unable to tell the prince of her love. He falls in love with someone else and the little mermaid wants to go back to the sea. Her sisters sell their hair to the witch, to buy a knife with which the little mermaid can kill the prince and so become a mermaid again. She cannot do this and drowns herself.

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ANTHONY FREDERICK AUGUSTUS SANDYS 1829-1904

No.19

Queen Eleanor

Queen Eleanor was the jealous wife of King Henry II. According to legend, Henry hid his mistress Fair Rosamund in a maze. The artist depicts Eleanor following the red silk cord which the king used to find his true love. In her hands she carries a dagger to kill the watching guard and a goblet of poison for Rosamund. 

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EDWIN LANDSEER 1802-73

No.18

The Arab Tent (1866)

Landseer was an English painter and sculptor, famous for his paintings of animals - especially horses, dogs and stags. However, his best known works are the lion sculptures in Trafalgar Square.

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WILLIAM QUILLER ORCHARDSON 1832-1910

No.17

Napoleon on Board the Bellerophon (c.1880)

This painting shows Napoleon on board the vessel taking him to St Helena, where he would remain, an exile, until his death in 1821. The deposed Emperor stands on the deck, isolated from the group of officers who watch him as he looks out to sea, undoubtedly thinking about his future.

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ARTHUR HUGHES 1832-1915

No.16

Sunday

Arthur Hughes was an English painter and illustrator associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was responsible for many of the illustrations in George MacDonald's books and also produced numerous illustrations for Norman MacLeod's monthly magazine, Good Words.

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WILLIAM POWELL FRITH 1819-09

No.15

The Railway Station

This huge 1862 oil painting measuring 116.7cm x 256.4 cm. depicts Paddington Railway Station in London. Frith was an English painter specialising in genre subjects and panoramic narrative works of life in Victorian times. He has been described as the "greatest British painter of the social scene since Hogarth."

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VALENTINE CAMERON PRINSEP 1838-1904

No.14

Cinderella (c.1880)

Born in Calcutta, "Val" Princep was a British painter of the Pre-Raphaelite school. In 1877, he went to India and painted a huge picture of the Delhi Durbar which he exhibited in 1880 at the Royal Academy. It was presented to Queen Victoria and afterwards hung at Buckingham Palace. 

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