Inspired Art Appreciation Series William Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelites (Video Series by Artist & Author Pamela Poole) The Pre-Raphaelite Movement was born in 1848 during a notorious time of unrest and upheaval across Europe. In England, the English way of life was forever changed by the Industrial Age, which brought squalor and despair for the lower classes of citizens and newfound prosperity for the middle-class. The new wealth created a small, connected society who all knew one another, pursued the same amusements and intermarried. From an art perspective, the demand for portraiture rose. Artists who could flatter their subjects could thrive. But customers also wanted brown washes over their paintings that made them drab, almost as though they saw the world through the haze of coal smoke from the industry that provided their lifestyles. A group of artists emerged that are now known as the Pre-Raphaelites. They sought to bring about a meaningful change through their art, through high principles of the Renaissance, as practiced by artists before Raphael. This art movement gleaned inspiration from moral themes in literature by greats like Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, Chaucer, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Keats, Robert Browning, and Lord Alfred Tennyson. The three most important members of this group were William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and John Everett Millais. Their paintings were bright and conveyed an intensity of feeling. Their subjects were historical and religious. But it was their youthful idealism that game them a united purpose. In that age, literary high-mindedness and medieval romance were controversial, yet other artists joined the Pre-Raphaelite movement, such as William Morris, whose singularly recognizable style was to become a significant influence in future aesthetics in design. Influential art critic John Ruskin entered the fray of the controversy to support the artists. The Pre-Raphaelites would triumph as an inspiring and influential art movement, shaking off the gloomy coal-smoked mood of the Victorian age. Artist Focus: William Holman Hunt, (1827-1910) We looked at several paintings in the Art Appreciation video: The Light of the World (1854)—Influential art critic John Ruskin declared that this painting was one of the noblest works of sacred art ever produced in any age. Our English Coasts (Strayed Sheep) (1852) The Shadow of Death (1870-73)—Jesus’ cast shadow foreshadows His crucifixion. Painting Focus: The Awakening Conscience (1854)—Hailed by John Ruskin as a master work This is a storytelling picture and the theme is the fate of the woman. It’s a genre scene, a domestic interior painting that comments on the society of the time period. It portrays a moral message and is filled with symbolism. Some symbolic elements: Upon the piano, a Morning Glory bloom in the vase is a flower of deceit, for this flower entangles itself with other plants, much like the complicated situation in the young lady’s life. The clock under glass depicts Chastity binding Cupid, suggesting that the gentleman will not get his way. A painting that hangs on the wall is of the woman caught in adultery in the Bible. The sheet of music on the piano is a nostalgic song of the time, “Oft in the Stilly Night.” This song is about a woman who reflects on her childhood innocence, and these words stung the young lady’s conscience. Unaware of the change in their situation, the gentleman continues to sing while she sees beyond the room. At the bottom of the painting is a roll of music called “Tears Idle Tears,” a musical adaption of a poem by Tennyson. The words contrasted past innocence and present wretchedness. This song, and the one on the piano, tells of the sorrow in the woman’s predicament. The young woman: The first owner of this painting asked Hunt to alter the expression on the woman’s face, because it was so painful that he could not live with it. In this new version, notice that the woman’s eyes are on something distant. In the mirror on the wall behind her, viewers can see that she faces a window full of light. This is a reminder of Hunt’s painting that same year, The Light of the World, and light from the window makes the woman’s face glow. The same warm light also falls on the bottom corner of the piano, where unraveled wool yarn catches the viewer’s eye, symbolic of the painting of sheep and the biblical messages about sheep and the Shepherd—another sign of her change of heart and salvation. She is rising from her seat on the gentleman’s lap, symbolic of leaving him behind. On her hands, we see rings on every finger except the one that should bear a wedding ring. The lacy edges of her skirt tell us this is her petticoat. At her feet is a soiled white glove, showing what her life will become if she stays. The gentleman: This man is enjoying a visit with his mistress, as shown by his hat and a book on the table. He is a well-to-do, well-dressed, educated man who lodges his mistress in a comfortable and modern house. He plays the piano, unaware of her sudden change of heart and mind. Under the table is a cat toying with a bird, but then distracted with the woman’s movements. This seems to give the bird a chance to escape. Suggested lesson from this video: Look up Scripture verses that the artist may have been inspired by for the featured paintings. Compose your own portrayals of these scenes. Use bright, rich jewel tones in your colors. .