For the Fairies were all in His Head….
On the face of it, the story of Richard Dadd is indeed a sad and tragic one. Then again, on the other hand it may not have been so to him. Everything is relevant and as it seems that he lived in his own little world, he may well have been one of the most contented and happy individuals of 19th century England.
Richard was born on 1st August
1817 in Chatham, Kent,
England. His father was a chemist. Richard showed great ability for
drawing from his boyhood.
He began painting and by the age of twenty he was accepted by
the Royal Academy of
Arts in London.
He became closely involved as the leader of an artistic group of the time
called the ‘Clique’.
At the age of 25, Sir
Thomas Phillips was leading an expedition through Europe to Greece
and its surrounds. The return journey was to be through Palestine and Egypt.
Richard was chosen to accompany the expedition as draftsman.
During a harrowing period when passing from Jerusalem to Jordan he
suffered greatly. Finally in December 1842 whilst travelling by boat up the Nile, he had a total mental collapse and
became increasingly violent. He believed that he was acting under the influence
of the Egyptian God,
Osiris. Other
members of the expedition considered him to be suffering from
sunstroke.................
He returned to England
early in 1843 where he was diagnosed to be ‘of unsound mind’. His family took him to the
countryside to recuperate.
However and unfortunately, in August of that year, he became
convinced that his father was in fact the Devil in
disguise and he killed him with a knife. He fled to France. Whilst on his way to Paris, he tried to murder a tourist with
a razor and was arrested by the police. He confessed to the murder of his
father and he was returned to England.
He was committed indefinitely to the criminal section of Bethlem psychiatric hospital – better known as Bedlam. He
was 26 years of age.............
There is some doubt as to what mental illness caused him
his problems but it was most likely schizophrenia
or bipolar disorder. At least
two of his brothers suffered from similar illnesses.
In the hospital – as
it was for all those who had the finances – he was allowed to
continue his painting. He specialised in ‘fairies and other supernatural subjects’. He
also had a forte for Orientalist scenes.
Between 1855 and 1864 he worked upon what is considered to be
his masterpiece –The Fairy
Feller’s Master-Stroke. He became a prolific artist and his works
are highly sought after and priced accordingly.
From looking closely into the main painting, it can be plainly
seen that Richard was in fact living in his own little world with quite an
organised family of fairies. Some of the characters are exquisite.
After twenty years confinement, in July 1864 when Bedlam became overcrowded, he was moved
to a new asylum at Broadmoor –
a bleak and desolate place where to this day many of the UK’s most dangerous
prisoners are still kept confined.
He continued to paint and was permitted to receive visitors. On 7th January 1886, aged
69 years, he died from a lung complaint.
An interesting point about Dadd is that there are still many
undiscovered paintings by him to be found. As late as 1987, on BBC television –
Antiques Roadshow –
one such painting was discovered. It was entitled ‘The Artist’s Halt in the Desert’ and
was later bought for £100,000 by the British
Museum.
Finally, I am in two minds as to whether I pity or envy
Richard. On one hand, he spent the best part of his life imprisoned
in two of the most hated mental institutions in the world – yet, on the other,
his mind was able to take him to some mystical and magical land where all would
appear to be happy and contented. It is said that we are all finely
balanced on a razor blade’s edge and even the slightest of nudges can throw us
into the abyss – perhaps if such were to happen, a life such as Richard Dadd’s
would not be the worst result.............................
----------Mike----------
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