Prospero and Miranda, 1803

Henry Thomson RA (1773 - 1843)

RA Collection: Art

Henry Thomson succeeded Henry Fuseli as Keeper of the Royal Academy in 1825 but resigned two years later owing to a severe illness from which he never fully recovered. Thomson retired to the island of Portsea, where he grew up (his father was in the navy), and where he enjoyed boating and sketching marine subjects.

This painting shows the characters of Prospero and Miranda from Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest. Banished from Milan, they are sailing to the remote island where the play takes place.