The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania

Scottish artist Joseph Noel Paton painted this swirling forest scene in 1849, drawing straight from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." At its heart stand Oberon and Titania, the fairy king and queen, caught mid-argument over a young Indian boy they both wish to keep. Their bodies twist away from one another, and a soft glow wraps around them, but the drama between the two royals is almost the calmest part of the picture. Everywhere else, the forest bursts with activity.

Dozens of fairies, sprites, and strange little woodland creatures fill every gap in the canvas. Some sway in dance, others curl up asleep, a few hide among the leaves, and plenty seem to be causing trouble in the darker corners. Paton had a knack for cramming his scenes full of tiny detail, and this one reportedly holds well over a hundred figures. Writer Lewis Carroll was so taken with it that he sat down and counted every fairy he could find.

The work fits neatly into the Victorian fairy painting tradition, a fashion that swept through 19th century Britain when people were hungry for magic, myth, and glimpses of hidden worlds. It was a real hit when first shown, and the original still hangs in the National Galleries of Scotland, where visitors happily play the same game Carroll did, searching out every creature buried in the green.