Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

The Fairy Raid: Carrying Off a Changeling, Midsummer Eve

Image credit: Glasgow Life Museums

How you can use this image

 

This image is available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (CC BY-NC-ND).

You can reproduce this image for non-commercial purposes and you are not able to change or modify it in any way.

Wherever you reproduce the image you must attribute the original creators (acknowledge the original artist(s) and the person/organisation that took the photograph of the work) and any other rights holders.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find more images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Download

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Set at twilight in a dark wood this scene is less innocent than it first appears. While the large fairies are the conventionally beautiful and aristocratic figures of medieval romance, their smaller attendants are the grotesque creatures more often associated with folklore. Other human children, identifiable by their size, wear slender chains around their ankles. One child in particular looks back at the human world he is leaving behind. A recent interpretation of the picture has suggested the theme of child abduction and reasoned that Paton was simultaneously enthralling his audience and increasing their anxiety about an issue which was all too common in Victorian society. Whether or not this was Paton's intention, the picture is a remarkable tour de force. All is rendered with a breathtaking, meticulous attention to detail, the woodland scene bursting with imaginary fairies, knights in armour, fantastic creatures and lush flora and fauna. There are even standing stones on a hill in the distance, making a link with ancient Celtic beliefs in which the artist was so interested. Paton has thus brought together antiquarianism, folklore and chivalry in a typically mid-Victorian way.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Title

The Fairy Raid: Carrying Off a Changeling, Midsummer Eve

Date

1867

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 90.5 x W 146.7 cm

Accession number

3234

Acquisition method

gift, 1965

Work type

Painting

Inscription description

signed/dated

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Normally on display at

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8AG Scotland

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue