The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke
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The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is a Richard Dadd painting. It was commissioned by George Henry Hayden, who was head steward at Bethlem Royal Hospital at the time. He was impressed by Dadd's artistic efforts and asked for a fairy painting of his own. Dadd worked on the painting for nine years - paying microscopic attention to detail, as well as a layering technique producing near-3D results - and it is generally regarded as his most important work. However, Dadd himself considered the painting to be unfinished, and as such added the suffix of "Quasi" to its title.
In order to give context to his work, Dadd subsequently wrote a strange poem by the name of Elimination of a Picture & its subject--called The Feller's Master Stroke in which each of the characters appearing in the picture is given a name and purpose, including myriad references to old English folklore and even Shakespeare - apparently trying to show that the painting's unique composition was not merely a product of random, wild inspiration.
[edit] Legacy
The song of the same name on Queen's second album, Queen II, released in 1974, makes direct reference to the painting's characters as detailed in Dadd's poem, such as "Queen Mab", "Waggoner Will", the "Tatterdemalion", and others.
British author Terry Pratchett's young adult novel, The Wee Free Men, contains a scene inspired by the painting. The painting is also a central plot element in The Witches of Chiswick by Robert Rankin.
[edit] External links
- Tate online: Richard Dadd's "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke"
- Tate online: Sigmar Polke on Richard Dadd
[edit] References
- MacGregor, John. (1989). The Discovery of the Art of the Insane. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04071-0
- Tate online: Richard Dadd
- PopSubCulture(dot)Com Biography Project
