Slender, with the Assistance of Shallow, Courting Anne Page, from "The Merry Wives of Windsor," Act III, Scene iv

Charles Robert Leslie's 1825 painting from The Merry Wives of Windsor depicts Slender — with the assistance of Shallow — awkwardly courting Anne Page in Act III, Scene iv. Leslie was the leading British painter of literary genre scenes drawn from Shakespeare, Cervantes, Molière, and other canonical authors, a genre that flourished in early Victorian England as these texts became objects of national pride. Born in London to American parents, Leslie brought a transatlantic perspective to English literary painting and produced works that were engraved, exhibited at the Royal Academy, and widely reproduced. The Yale Center for British Art holds this example of his mature approach to Shakespearean comedy.

Leslie's theatrical style translates stage comedy into paint: the characters are legible types with exaggerated expressions suited to comic recognition. The indoor setting is rendered with attention to period costume and domestic architecture. The paint handling is smooth and illustrational, prioritizing narrative clarity.