Richard Dadd

The Child’s Problem

1857

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment

Artist: Richard Dadd 1817–1886
Medium: Watercolour and graphite on paper
Dimensions: Support: 171 x 254 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by Dr R.C. Neville 1954
Reference: N06251

Display caption

The title of this work refers to a position on the chess board which was considered simple enough to have been set by a child. The theme of the opposition of black and white is picked up in the pictures on the wall which relate to the anti-slavery movement, a cause supported by Dadd’s family. On the table are delicate still-life objects, such as the walnut shell boat to the left, which may or may not have significance.

Gallery label, May 2007

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

Features

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘The Blue Rigi, Sunrise’ 1842

Colour me British: Watercolour I

Klaus Kertess , Jerry Brotton , Vidya Gastaldon , David Attenborough , Jennifer Higgie , Silke Otto-Knapp , Matsui Fuyuko , Deanna Petherbridge and David Musgrave

Tate Britain is staging a grand survey of watercolour painting in Great Britain, from the early thirteenth century through to ...

Explore

interiors(4,437)
- domestic(1,754)
  - living room(283)
leisure and pastimes(7,606)
- recreational activities(2,859)
  - chess / draughts(17)
  - playing(215)
nature(46,287)
- seascapes and coasts(8,315)
  - sea(3,643)
objects(23,206)
- fine arts and music(3,793)
  - picture(235)
  - sculpture(681)
- furnishings(3,083)
  - table(758)
- kitchen(630)
  - carafe(10)
- clothing and personal effects(5,895)
  - veil(54)
- vessels and containers(2,211)
  - vase(279)
- sports and games(230)
  - chess board / chequerboard(12)
people(35,419)
- children(3,466)
  - boy(1,184)
- adults(23,093)
  - woman(9,185)
- nudes(2,542)
  - figure(197)
- ethnicity(4,513)
  - black(786)
society(35,071)
- social comment(6,483)
  - slavery(54)
- transport: water(8,425)
  - ship, sailing(1,448)

You might like

Richard Dadd, ‘The Pilot Boat’ 1858–9

Richard Dadd The Pilot Boat

1858–9

N04502

Richard Dadd, ‘The Flight out of Egypt’ 1849–50

Richard Dadd The Flight out of Egypt

1849–50

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art N05767

William James Müller An Interior

date not known

N02329

George John Pinwell The Connoisseurs

date not known

N04085

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘Lucrezia Borgia’ 1860–1

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Lucrezia Borgia

1860–1

On display at Tate Britain part of Edward Burne-Jones N03063

Robert Braithwaite Martineau, ‘The Last Day in the Old Home’ 1862

Robert Braithwaite Martineau The Last Day in the Old Home

1862

N01500

Richard Dadd, ‘Wandering Musicians’ c.1878

Richard Dadd Wandering Musicians

c.1878

T12133

Thomas Sidney Cooper, ‘A Cow and Two Sheep’ 1860

Thomas Sidney Cooper A Cow and Two Sheep

1860

N01976

Richard Dadd, ‘A Turk’ 1863

Richard Dadd A Turk

1863

View by appointment N03023

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘The Blue Closet’ 1857

Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Blue Closet

1857

N03057

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘Dante’s Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice’ 1856

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Dante’s Dream at the Time of the Death of Beatrice

1856

N05229

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘The Adoration’ 1858–64

Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Adoration

1858–64

View by appointment A00843

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘St George and Princess Sabra’ 1862

Dante Gabriel Rossetti St George and Princess Sabra

1862

N05231

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘The Passover in the Holy Family’ 1856

Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Passover in the Holy Family

1856

N03156

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ‘Arthur’s Tomb’ 1860

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Arthur’s Tomb

1860

N03283