In memory of Richard Dadd: ten of his best, and thoughts about his life and work. Would we have been any better towards him even now?
Dadd
The decline and fall of Medea, as her sorcery is used for murder, and she kills her own infant sons. Paintings by Delacroix, Turner, and others.
In 1864, he was transferred to the newly-built Broadmoor Asylum. Despite that disruption, he continued to paint.
Domenicus van Wijnen’s paintings are radically original, quite unlike other works before him, and not matched for more than a century after. Why don’t we know him and these paintings better?
In which Dadd becomes a nineteenth-century Bosch on some seriously psychotropic drugs. It is a masterpiece like no other.
A couple of watercolours give some insight into those around him, and pose a perplexing puzzle. He ended the 1850s with another masterpiece based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
He painted a series of narratives drawn from the Bible and other sources, and 32 watercolours of ‘Passions’ over this period.
An extended tour of the Middle East proves exhausting, but results in two outstanding paintings. Then Dadd’s world falls apart.
To celebrate his bicentenary, here are some early works, including some of his ‘faerie paintings’ of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
There are many important anniversaries to celebrate in paintings this year: here are some tasters.
The Eclectic Light Company 