• Welcome to PaintingMania.com
  • Hello, New customer? Start here.
  • Edwin Henry Landseer
    Mar 7, 1802 - Oct 1, 1873
  • Man Proposes, God Disposes - Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was an English painter, well known for his paintings of animals - particularly horses, dogs and stags. The best known of Landseer's works. He was a notable figure in 19th century British art, and his works can be found in Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kenwood House and the Wallace Collection in London. He also collaborated with fellow painter Frederick Richard Lee.
Shop by Art Gallery
Man Proposes, God Disposes
  • Pin It
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Man Proposes, God DisposesEnlarge
  • Man Proposes, God Disposes

  • Edwin Henry Landseer
  • Standard size
    We offer original aspect ratio sizes
  • Price
  • Qty
  • 20 X 60 in
  • $394.95
  • 24 X 72 in
  • $499.95
  • 30 x 90 in
  • $730.95
  • If listed sizes are not in proportion to the original, don't worry, just choose which size is similar to what you want, we can offer oil paintings in a suitable size, painted in proportion to the original.
  • If you would like the standard size, please let us know. Need a Custom Size?
  • line
  • 1864
    Oil on canvas
    91.4 x 243.7 cm
    Royal Holloway College.

    The work was inspired by the search for Franklin's lost expedition which disappeared in the Arctic after 1845. The painting is in the collection of Royal Holloway, University of London.

    The painting adopts the dark tones of Landseer's later works. The scene shows two polar bears among the scattered wreckage of the expedition - a telescope, the tattered remains of a red ensign, a sail, and human bones, which William Michael Rossetti called "the saddest of membra disjecta". The image shows humanity and civilization defeated by "nature, red in tooth and claw", and can be seen as a commentary on the crisis of British triumphalism and imperialism in the middle of the 19th century.

    The phrase "Man proposes, but God disposes" is a translation of the Latin phrase "Homo proponit, sed Deus disponit" from Book I, chapter 19, of The Imitation of Christ by the German cleric Thomas à Kempis. A few modernized and paraphrased Bible translations use it as a translation of Proverbs 19:21, but the original of this verse is longer and more elaborate.

    Why settle for a paper print when you can add sophistication to your rooms with a high quality 100% hand-painted oil painting on canvas at wholesale price? Order this beautiful oil painting today! that's a great way to impress friends, neighbors and clients alike.

  • 100% hand-painted oil painting on artist grade canvas. No printing or digital imaging techniques are used.
  • Additional 2 inch blank border around the edge.
  • No middle people, directly ship to the world.
  • In stock items ship immediately, usually ships in 3 to 10 days.
  • You can order any painting in any size as your requests.
  • $12.95 shipping charge for small size (e.g., size <= 20 x 24 in).
  • The cheapest shipping rate from DHL, UPS, USPS, etc.
  • Canvas stretched on wood bars for free.
    - Need special frame for oil painting? Please contact us.
  • Send you a digital copy via email for your approval before shipping.
  • 45-day Satisfaction Guaranteed and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Prev Macaw, Love Birds, Terrier, and Spaniel Puppies, Belonging to Her Majesty Mare and Foal Next
Average Rating: stars Currently rated 5.00, based on 3 reviews.
Write a critique
  • stars
  • from United States.
  • Looks fantastic!! Thank you.
  • stars
  • from United States.
  • I am extremely pleased with the result and your excellent services. Thank you.
  • stars
  • from Czech Republic.
  • It looks great! Thank you.

Other paintings by Edwin Henry Landseer:

The Dog and the Shadow
The Dog and the Shadow
Shoeing
Shoeing
'Lion', a Newfoundland Dog
'Lion', a Newfoundland Dog
A Scene at Abbotsford
A Scene at Abbotsford
Edwin Henry LandseerLandseer was born at 71 Queen Anne Street East (afterwards 33 Foley Street), London, on March 7th 1802. Landseer was a brilliant animal painter whose oil paintings had added appeal in the Victorian age because of his tendency to give his animal scenes a moral dimension. These Landseer paintings were widely circulated in his time in the form of engravings, often made by his brother Thomas. Edwin Landseer was the youngest son of an engraver. The three Landseer brothers studied under Benjamin Robert Haydon, the historical painter, from 1815. Haydon encouraged Landseer to study animal anatomy. In 1816, Landseer entered the Royal Academy Schools, but he had already exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in the previous year. Landseer was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1826 aged only twenty four, and full Academician in 1831 when not yet thirty.

In 1824 Landseer made the first of many visits to Scotland. Landseer fell in love with the Highlands, which inspired many of his later paintings such as “The Monarch of the Glen” (Royal Academy 1851, John Dewar & Sons Limited). Landseer also visited Sir Walter Scott, who admired his paintings and chose him as one of the illustrators to the Waverley edition of his novels. In the 1830s Landseer paintings gained wide popularity and was bought both by the aristocracy and the newly important middle class. Landseer himself moved freely in aristocratic circles, and after 1836 he enjoyed royal patronage, especially in the 1840s when Victoria and Albert also discovered Scotland. Landseer paid his first visit to their home, Balmoral in 1850 to paint a large group portrait painting of the royal family. Landseer was knighted that year even though the painting was never finished.

After a breakdown in 1840, partly caused by the failure of the royal portrait, Landseer had a permanent fight against depression and ill health, although Landseer continued to paint brilliantly almost until the end of his life. In the 1860s Landseer modelled the lions at the base of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square and these were unveiled in 1867. In 1866 Landseer declined the presidency of the Royal Academy, and after 1870 sank slowly into madness. A major exhibition of Landseer paintings was held at the Tate Gallery in 1981, organised by Richard Ormond.