The Merry Wives of Windsor: Dr. Caius, Simple and Dame Quickly

Robert Walter Weir, The Merry Wives of Windsor: Dr. Caius, Simple and Dame Quickly, 1830, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase, 1991.66
Copied Robert Walter Weir, The Merry Wives of Windsor: Dr. Caius, Simple and Dame Quickly, 1830, oil on canvas, 20 7⁄8 x 17 1⁄2 in. (53.1 x 44.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase, 1991.66
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
The Merry Wives of Windsor: Dr. Caius, Simple and Dame Quickly
Artist
Date
1830
Location
Dimensions
20 7⁄8 x 17 1⁄2 in. (53.1 x 44.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • State of being — emotion — anger
  • Allegory — death
  • State of being — emotion — fear
  • Literature — Shakespeare — Merry Wives of Windsor
  • Architecture Interior
Object Number
1991.66
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1991.66

Artwork Description

American artists, actors, and writers during the nineteenth century were still heavily influenced by English literature, and Shakespeare’s plays enjoyed many revivals. In this painting, Robert W. Weir illustrated a moment in The Merry Wives of Windsor when a character finds his rival’s servant in his closet. Weir gave the two men comical expressions of horror to emphasize the slapstick nature of the scene.