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Amy Robsart
Charles Robert Leslie·ca.1833
Historical Context
Leslie's Amy Robsart depicts the tragic heroine of Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth (1821), the secret wife of Robert Dudley who was murdered at Cumnor Hall. Scott's historical novel, which dramatized the real Elizabeth I–Dudley affair through the figure of the doomed Amy, was enormously popular in the Victorian period and provided Leslie with one of his most affecting subjects. Leslie — an American-born painter who trained in London and became one of the most accomplished literary illustrators in English Victorian painting — specialized in subjects from great literature that combined historical drama with feminine vulnerability. The painting exemplifies the Victorian fascination with wronged women from history and literature.
Technical Analysis
The period costume is rendered with careful attention to historical accuracy. Leslie's handling combines detailed fabric painting with atmospheric background treatment, creating the rich, warm tones characteristic of his literary subjects.
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