Mary Queen of Scots, at the Battle of Langside, fought on 13 May 1568

Painted in 1861, this canvas depicts Mary Queen of Scots observing the Battle of Langside on 13 May 1568, a pivotal engagement in which her forces were defeated and she was forced to flee to England, where she would ultimately be imprisoned and executed. The choice of a Scottish historical subject by an Italian Risorgimento painter reflects the widespread European Romantic fascination with Mary Stuart as a figure of tragic sovereignty — a queen undone by political circumstance and religious conflict. In 1861 the subject carried an oblique resonance: Italian patriotic painting was simultaneously engaging questions of sovereignty, legitimate rule, and the consequences of political defeat. The work is held in Florence's Galleria d'Arte Moderna.

The painting adopts the horizontal sweep of Fattori's battle scenes, adapted here to a historical tableau. The focal figure of Mary is distinguished by position and light against the more diffuse treatment of the battle below. The palette draws on his mid-career Macchiaioli principles, balancing historical drama with plain-air directness.