T M PLATE 1. PO RTRAI O F HO L AN H U NT AT THE AG E F F F F e O I TEEN . ( rontispiec ) ri nl n The o i a is now he ssess o of Mr. H a d is a g in t po i n unt, copy by him from the original which was painted at the age of seventeen. CO NTE NTS 1 Th ’ — . e Painter s Youth (1 827 1 854) I I The . East I I I . The Subject Pictures IV r nd O h r . Po traits a t e Works L IS T OF I LLU S TR ATI O NS Plate 1 a a at . Portr it of Holm n Hunt the age of Fifteen Frontispiece By kind permission of the painter G V a II . The Two entlemen of eron From the Birmingham A rt G allery 111 a a and a . Is bell the Pot of B sil nof Mrs am Ha From the painting in the possessio . ' es ll I L V . The ight of the World Fromthe ainin i K bl Coll e Cha l O xford p t g n e e eg pe , V T a a . he Sc pego t From the painting in possession of S i r Cuthbert uil r Bar . ' te , t V I T o f . he Triumph the Innocents From the painting lent by the painter to the W alker A rt G aller L iv r ool y , e p I I V . The Hireling Shepherd Fromthe painting in the Manchester Art Gallery Ma V III . y Morning By kind permission of the painter I ’ THE PAI NTE R S YO U TH (1 827-1 854) ' u e e i Art is too tedio s an mploym nt for any not nfatuated with it. The only artists I ever knew who achieved work of note in any sense w e v r r r hatever, went first through a st ady training of se e al yea s and afterwa ds entered their studios with as unwearying a punctuality as business men attend fi n r s their of ces , worked lo ge hours than the e, and had fewer holidays, partly art e r because of their love for , but also b cause of their deep sense of the utte uselessness of grappling with the difficulties besetting the happy issue of each x fl ” contest, e cept at close and un inching quarters. “ I have many times in my studio come to such a pass of humiliati on that I have felt that there was no one thing that I had thought I could do thoroughly ” W H in which I was not altogether incapable. H. PON a wintry afternoon in London, in the 1 8 o f a old year 3 4, a. little boy six ye rs ’ was standing on the stairs of a poor artist s I I 1 2 HOLMAN H UNT house, watching, through a window in the f O . wall, the marvellous deeds the man within The man within was painting the “ Burning of ” the Houses of Parliament . Scarlet and gold ' Scarlet and gold ' He used them up s o quickly that he had to grind and prepare more and more . Every time he ground with the muller on the slab a fresh supply of vermilion and chrome yellow, ‘ ‘ f cnfla ra i n there was a fresh flare up O the o g t o , another outburst of applause from the little boy. ’ o n Meantime, the artist s wife put the kettle the u fire, and cut bread and butter as if nothing o t of the way were going on ; and by-and-by she and the father and their children sat down to tea. It seemed very strange to the little watchman a that they could beh ve in this calm, everyday manner when such wonders were all about them r m in the room . Presently a po ter came fro a. ’ a warehouse in Dyer s Court, Alderm nbury, where a h dwelt a merch nt, Mr. William Hunt ; and e took the little boy home to his father. This little boy had been born on the 2nd 1 82 April 7, in Wood Street, Cheapside, and ’ iles s was christened William Holman at St. G , Cripplegate . From the time that he could hold L — W G T P ATE u. THE T O EN LEMEN OF a 1 V ERO NA. ( P inted in 852) The subject of this picture i s taken from the last act of S hake ’ ” s T e t e V s peare wo G n lem n of erona. It will be remembered that Proteus and V alentine had each gone from V erona to Milan to improve by travel and by s eeing the wonders of the world a La a s P s f abro d . ter on 'uli , who e love roteu had won, ollowed im u s as a a n s c s and h dis g i ed p ge, o ly to di over that the fal e , fickle, treacherous wooer was endeavouring to supplant hi s friend V alentine ’ h ns S the D s te . But V in t e affectio of ylvia, uke daugh r alentine, r t a . s interpos ing at the c i ic l moment , rescued her Thi is the moment s s . T s is s the arti t depict he cene one of pure bright unlight, in which the brilliant colours of the gay cos tumes tell out with almos t s b s n tartling vividness . In the ackground are een advanci g the o t w the D r . u laws , ith uke and Thu io whom they have captured It adds an interest to the picture to know that S ylvia was painted f M ss S a w s e w of Da e rom i iddall, who fter ard becam the ife nt T be - f es s was a Gabriel Ross etti. he ech tree or t cenery p inted in ’ K K n st s a at . L ord Amher p rk nowle , e t n The picture i s in the Birmi gham Art Gallery. 1 6 HOLMAN H UNT solid would form anempty pipe. Attempts to drill the was an m s tick into a tube failed, but there expedient for ak a s i ng the tuft fuller. Cutting cros cleft in the bottom of the a a Of a re wood, I inserted str ight length h ir, which I then a bound with its crimson thre d . With gum I managed patiently to bind down loose ends and to give animproving a a a r gloss to the whole. My fe rs grew p ce, since eve y hour there was a danger of inquiry for the lost pencil . I sum moned an a a a up, therefore, ssumption of ssur nce, trusting that my father would see no difference between my brush nd a a . his I went forw rd to him, holding the trophy very tenderly les should fall o p e es. e rned h s t it t i c H tu i eyes, a a a a they bec me bewildered , his usu l loving look m de frown f a . sa rom him the more to be dre ded I fortified my spirit, y ‘ ’ a a . ing, Th nk you very much, f ther, for your brush He took ‘ h ’ ’ nd i t a ? a O . a with, W t s this turned it ver Bre thless I s a and a obbed ; he burst out l ughing, so brought torrent of ’ t a . a O h e rs to my eyes He excl imed, , I see, it s my brush, is i t P a and a a c ught me up tossed me loft sever l times, ending a - a with scrubbing on my cheek from his close sh ven chin . ” 1 This was the reception of my first work of art. The warehouse was a mysterious place full of l and aughter talk by day ; empty, silent, and vast at night when the mas ter went over it with a ’ - a bull s eye l ntern . A funny man called Henry Pinchers busied hims elf with velvet binding on f the third floor. The jests O Henry Pinchers were O f had had infinite charm . He to take two steps 1 - - re nd . P s a B t d i . Raphaeliti m the Pre Raphaelite ro herhoo , vol , by W . Holman Hunt. HOLMAN H U NT 1 7 back for every step forward, he declared, one “ cold morning. Then how did you get to the warehouse at all ? ” asked his delighted “ ’ . o u b auditor Don t y see, you silly oy, I turned round and walked backwards ' said Henry Pinchers. Other people were not much more clear than t he in their answers o questions . Temple Bar was “ ” s o called because there was no other name ; “ and the martyrs were burnt at S mi thfield be ” cause they were martyrs . Whether the child f found more satis action at the school to which, not . soon after, he was sent, does appear The lessons from the New Testament read to him there made a deep impression upon his mind, “ and were remembered in years to come .