Dadd painted this extraordinary Fantasy masterpiece in the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum of Bethlem Royal Hospital — Bedlam — where he was confined for murdering his father.
Apologies for posting this here. I find Substack confusing and haven't figured out how to send you a personal message; maybe I need to be a paid subscriber to do that.
I wanted to thank you for introducing me to the word "velleity" (used in reference to Hoyle in "The This"). It's such a great word!
When my partner's daughter moans about life with us, and claims to be desperate to move out, but never bothers to look for better paid work, I think: velleity, velleity, all is velleity. (Deep down, I know it's not easy finding one's way as a young person today. )
Robert Rankin tells a story about seeing this at the Tate, leaning forward to admire it more closely, then suddenly drawing back and accidentally headbutting the actor John Hurt who was stood right behind him.
Interesting read as always. I was startled by how small (about 50x30cm) yet how obsessively detailed the painting is, still unfinished after nine years of one-off work. I'm also reminded of Mark Chadbourn's rather somber novella of the same name (PS, 2002), about a young man's increasing obsession with Dadd and the painting. Dadd is also one of several people haunting David Seabrook's meditation on the weird underbelly of Kent, All the Devils Are Here (Granta, 2002).
Apologies for posting this here. I find Substack confusing and haven't figured out how to send you a personal message; maybe I need to be a paid subscriber to do that.
I wanted to thank you for introducing me to the word "velleity" (used in reference to Hoyle in "The This"). It's such a great word!
When my partner's daughter moans about life with us, and claims to be desperate to move out, but never bothers to look for better paid work, I think: velleity, velleity, all is velleity. (Deep down, I know it's not easy finding one's way as a young person today. )
Robert Rankin tells a story about seeing this at the Tate, leaning forward to admire it more closely, then suddenly drawing back and accidentally headbutting the actor John Hurt who was stood right behind him.
The Rankin Feller's (War) Doctor strike.
Was Hurt hurt? Sorry 😞.
Let’s put it like this… he did the Elephant Man immediately after…
Here's a link to the Fitzwilliam version: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/10158
I wrote a paper on this myself some years ago, and tried to track down Dadd's poem that he wrote to go with the picture (also in relation to the other version of this that's in the Fitzwilliam Museum), and the poem, then inaccessible, is now in the public domain: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Elimination_of_a_Picture_%26_its_Subject—called_The_Fellers%27_Master_Stroke
Interesting read as always. I was startled by how small (about 50x30cm) yet how obsessively detailed the painting is, still unfinished after nine years of one-off work. I'm also reminded of Mark Chadbourn's rather somber novella of the same name (PS, 2002), about a young man's increasing obsession with Dadd and the painting. Dadd is also one of several people haunting David Seabrook's meditation on the weird underbelly of Kent, All the Devils Are Here (Granta, 2002).
I always make the Dad joke when discussing this painting
A lot going on here.
Most importantly, the inspiration for Robert Rankin's The Witches of Chiswick...