COVE

William Holman Hunt was a famous English painter who became noticed in the 1840s. Although Hunt’s work included a variety of characteristics such as attention to detail, bright and vibrant colors, and complex compositions, he was known famously for his religious approach to his artwork. As a result of these characteristics, this eventually became a specific style of art as Hunt and six others began a group in 1848 named the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood who valued and dedicated themselves to a new level of reality in every detail of their subjects (Davenport 43). In addition, the Brotherhood also focused on luminous colors, nature, and religion in their artwork.

            After initially being rejected, Hunt spent his early life training at the Royal Academy where it would be his venue for exhibition throughout the Pre-Raphaelite period. However, in 1860, Hunt was no longer using the Royal Academy as a platform and decided to by-pass the Academy’s annual exhibition and display his painting The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple before the public (Prettejohn 1-2). This painting expresses pure Pre-Raphaelite characteristics such as religious context, attention to detail, and vibrant colors. The painting features Jesus dressed in bright blue, which emphasizes his importance in the painting by allowing him to stand out through color, talking to nearby Rabbis, and discussing the scripture. Once again, the religious context along with the bright colors such as blue, yellow, and red allow for the painting to be a true piece of Pre-Raphaelite artwork. The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple went on to sell for 5,000 guineas, which made Hunt equivalent to a modern-day millionaire.

            Hunt’s father was a warehouse administrator and made Hunt work with him at the age of twelve (de la Sizeranne 59). Hunt’s father encouraged him to pursue art as a hobby but did not want it to go any further than that. Hunt was not fond of his father’s plans for him in the capitalist society of the warehouse and decided to leave home at an early age of sixteen to pursue his painting career. Hunt was rejected twice from the Royal Academy and it wasn’t until the third time in 1844 when he satisfied the requirements to enter (Prettejohn 3). Upon entering Hunt met both Millais and Rossetti who would both eventually be a part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

            Hunt had an interest in tensions between individuals, families, and society (Prettejohn 6). For example, as seen in The Hireling Shepard, there is a base layer of harmony between the two individuals. However, when looking at the final product, there is a sense of awkwardness between the two as their body position and composition shows uncomfortable angles and tension, which is exactly what Hunt was aiming towards. Once again, Hunt’s emphasis on conventional poses to add nuance to the figure's actions was a key characteristic of Pre-Raphaelite artwork. At first glance at the painting the viewer feels a sense of togetherness and acceptance, however, upon closer examination, it is clear to see the entrapment displayed from one individual on another and the rejection of that entrapment through the awkward body positions and hand placements. Hunt’s The Hireling Shepard painting was his first modern-life picture that marked his maturity as a painter (Prettejohn 6).

            One aspect that Hunt was not fond of which allowed him and the other members of the Brotherhood to stand out is he rejected the brown underpainting in the artwork. Instead, Hunt focused on a white base layer to help illuminate the painting and give it life. His technique to add varnish to his pigment and oil allowed for a transparent look which allowed light to pass through the initial layer and then reflect off of the white base layer to give the art some illumination from behind (Prettejohn 6). This is a perfect example of the techniques Hunt would use to brighten his paintings to parallel nicely with the characteristics of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

            In addition, a primary focus for Hunt in his artwork was incorporating a religious aspect, mainly those of Christian ideals. Hunt traveled to many places of Christian descent such as Syria and Palestine in hopes of accurately displaying religious aspects in his artwork (de la Sizeranne 62). Even though Hunt liked to incorporate these Christian ideals into his artwork, there were times when he wouldn’t. When he was not incorporating religious ideals, he would instead incorporate moral lessons drawn from British literature (Davenport 32). Regardless of what the underlying theme was in the painting, one thing was for sure, there was a dedication to detail.

Bibliography

Davenport, Nancy. “William Holman Hunt: Layered Belief in the Art of a Pre-Raphaelite Realist.” Religion & the Arts, vol. 16, no. ½, Jan. 2012, 49p.

Prettejohn, Elizabeth. “The Cambridge Companion to the Pre-Raphaelites.” Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Sizeranne, Robert de la. The Pre-Raphaelites, Parkstone International, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/depaul/detail.action?docID=887076.