2-995-770 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

"Richard III and the Children of Edward IV." - from a painting by Richard Stilke, 1860. 'M. Stilke...has paid especial attention to the writings of our immortal Shakspeare; and his most recent work drawn from that source is the fine picture representing Richard III. and the young Princes his nephews previous to their incarceration in the Tower, which is at present in the gallery of the Swedish Ambassador at Berlin...the character of the principal personages is remarkably truthful, and conformable to the original conception of the dramatist. We are struck in the first place by the wily, cunning, and malicious expression of the Duke of Gloucester, contrasting strongly with the agony depicted in the noble features of the Queen, who kneels before the tyrant. The elder Prince, by his face and action, announces the terror and abhorrence which fill his whole frame, whilst his younger brother clings imploringly yet hopelessly to the bosom of his mother. Each in his way betokens a foreknowledge of the terrible fate which awaits these hapless innocents. These is something particularly striking in the action of Richard's right hand, which is stretched out like the talon of a vulture ready to grasp its prey'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.