Daniel Maclise and Undine

'Scene from Undine' (detail) (1843) by Daniel Maclise; Royal Collection, Windsor

What a coincidence to find another Irish painter for today's post and how different from the one of yesterday's post! Daniel Maclise, born on 25 January 1806 and died on 25 April 1870, was an Irish illustrator and painter. When Sir Walter Scott visited Maclise's hometown Cork in 1825, he made a sketch of the writer that launched his career. He exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy in 1829 and dedicated himself gradually to paintings with subjects taken from history, tradition, and works of Shakespeare. He also illustrated the works of Charles Dickens with whom he formed a close friendship. The painting of today is based on a scene from the German novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, in which the water spirit Undine marries the knight Huldebrand in order to gain a soul. The scene depicted here occurs in chapter IX, where Huldebrand accompanies his bride Undine back home through the forest. They're being followed by the priest, Father Heilmann, who performed the wedding ceremony and is visible beneath the branch of the tree. Ahead is the dark and sinister water god, Kuhleborn, the uncle of Undine (not visible in this detailed scene). Click here for the full painting where you can also see the ornamental border that Maclise painted, containing the main elements of the story. I like this painting very much, also because of the story, but if I wouldn't have found this, I would have posted Madeline after Prayer.