The Fight Interrupted

The Fight Interrupted is an oil on canvas genre painting by the Irish artist William Mulready, from 1816. It is held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London.^[1][2]

The Fight Interrupted
Artist	William Mulready
Year	1816
Type	Oil on panel, genre painting
Dimensions	71.8 cm × 93.2 cm (28.3 in × 36.7 in)
Location	Victoria and Albert Museum, London

History and description

The work depicts a scene that takes place in a schoolyard, where a fight between two boys has been broken up by the schoolmaster, who listens to the conflicting accounts of the brawl from his students. The schoolmaster appears calm and patient, while talking with the kids and helding one of them by the ear. Mulready used his own father as the model for the teacher.^[3]

The painting was displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1816 at Somerset House in London and was one of the best received works on display. Many drew parallels between the youthful display of boxing and the recent British military success in the Napoleonic Wars culminating in the Battle of Waterloo.^[4] It consolidated Mulready's growing reputation following his election as a member of the Royal Academy.^[5]

Provenance

Today the painting is part of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, having been donated by the art collector John Sheepshanks, in 1857.^[6]