The Monarch of the Glen by Landseer: The Royal Stag

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A stag posed like a king

A red deer stag stands on a Highland hillside, head raised, antlers spread against a misty sky. Sir Edwin Landseer painted The Monarch of the Glen in 1851, and it became one of the best-known images of Scotland.

It was first intended for the Palace of Westminster, but Parliament declined to pay for it. It passed through private hands and was used for decades in whisky advertising. In 2017 it was bought for the National Galleries of Scotland after a public fundraising campaign.

Twelve points against the sky

Twelve-point antlers spread against pale clouds — Twelve points, like a crown.

The stag’s antlers have twelve points, making him a “royal” stag in hunting terms. Landseer placed them high in the composition, framed by pale cloud, so they read like a crown.

Stag’s head with flared nostrils and alert eye — The stag seems to catch a scent.

The head is turned slightly, nostrils flared, as if the animal has caught a scent. The eye is alert. Landseer knew deer well from years of visits to the Highlands.

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Mountains half lost in mist

Rocky Highland peaks half hidden in mist — Peaks disappearing into cloud.

Behind the stag, rocky peaks rise and disappear into cloud. The landscape is painted softly and in cool colours, so the warm brown body stands out sharply against it.

Wind-bent grasses and a small bare shrub — Grasses bend in the wind.

In the foreground, grasses and a small bare shrub bend in the wind. They give the scene its sense of height and exposure.

Queen Victoria’s favourite animal painter

Landseer was the most celebrated animal painter of Victorian Britain and a favourite of Queen Victoria. He also designed the bronze lions at the foot of Nelson’s Column in London. The Monarch of the Glen sums up the romantic image of the Highlands that he helped create.

Questions about The Monarch of the Glen

Where is the original?

National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, acquired in 2017.

When was it painted?

In 1851.

Why is it called the Monarch?

The stag’s twelve-point antlers make him a “royal” stag, posed like a ruler of the glen.

How large is it?

About 163.8 × 168.9 centimetres, oil on canvas.

Sources and image credit

Public-domain reproduction of The Monarch of the Glen (1851), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.