William Blake
Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing
(c.1786)
Tate
A fascination with fairies and the supernatural was a phenomenon of the Victorian age and resulted in a distinctive strand of art depicting fairy subjects drawn from myth and legend and particularly from Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Early, pre-Victorian examples are in Henry Fuseli, William Blake and Theodore Von Holst. Later Richard Dadd created keynote paintings, but most consistent and compelling is John Anster Fitzgerald. Richard Doyle also produced notable fairy illustrations. Other contributions came from many painters including Charles Landseer and even Turner. Fairy painting reached its final flowering in the illustrated books of Arthur Rackham around 1900–14.
