A Winter Night's Tale

Daniel Maclise R.A. 1806 - 1870

Summary

A cottage interior of indeterminate period, with an old woman sitting with a spinning wheel by an open fire to right, telling a story to a circle of spell-bound listeners. She gestures with a pointed finger, rosary beads in her other hand, framed by a screen behind her, which is elaborately decorated with figures and a family crest. To her left are three young women, two seated by the fire, the third leaning against the wall in the shadow. A young man also sits next to the fire, leaning back on his right hand, a book lying open, face down on his knee. A dog lies on the ground next to him. On the left of the storyteller is a family with two young children. The father has an anxious expression, his right hand covering his mouth. His wife sits next to him, a child asleep on her lap, their other child seated between his father's legs on the floor. To their left are two young girls, one holds her hand up to her face, her friend holding her arm, looking anxiously behind her. A cat lies asleep on the rug before them. Behind them is a table piled high with food and drink. Light shines through a window behind the table, the curtain half drawn. To the right of the window is a full suit of armour, draped with holly. The scene is lit dramatically by the light from the fire, casting a large shadow of the storyteller onto the screen behind her.

Display Label

A Winter Night’s Tale about 1867 Daniel Maclise 1806-70 Oil on canvas Lines from Shakespeare’s Richard II (Act V, scene ii) were Maclise’s inspiration for this picture: In winter’s tedious nights sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales Maclise has created a ‘historical’ setting, but close examination reveals that the costume and props are from a variety of periods. The German beer stein is 15th-century, the armour is 16th-century, and the baronial chair is pure Victorian. The circular composition around the aged storyteller in the eerie firelight cast a powerful spell to hold all these disparate elements together. Bequested by Mrs Enriqueta A Rylands, 1908.18