ME Braddon's 1862 "sensation" novel includes the following description:
"No one but a pre-Raphaelite would have painted, hair by hair, those
feathery masses of ringlets with every glimmer of gold and every shadow
of pale brown. No one but a pre-Raphaelite would have exaggerated every
attribute of that delicate face as to give a lurid lightness to the
blonde complexion and a strange sinister light to the deep blue eyes… I
suppose the painter had copied quaint mediaeval monstrosities until his
brain had grown bewildered, for my lady, in his portrait of her, had
something of the aspect of a beautiful fiend.
Her crimson dress,
exaggerated like all the rest in this strange picture, hung about her in
folds that looked like flames, her fair head peeping out of the lurid
mass of colour, as if out of a raging furnace. Indeed, the crimson
dress, the sunshine on the face, the red gold gleaming in the yellow
hair, the ripe scarlet of the pouting lips, the glowing colours of each
accessory of the minutely painted background, all combined to render the
first effect of the painting by no means an agreeable one."
What does this passage say about the traction of the PRB in popular consciousness circa 1861?
Victorian Avant-Garde // A Seminar at the Corcoran School of Arts and Design at the George Washington University // Spring 2016 // Professor Casey Smith // kcs@gwu.edu // The painting above is by Sir John Everett Millais, 1829–1896, British, L'Enfant du Regiment, 1854 to 1855, Oil on paper, laid on canvas, mounted on board, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Since the artist has exaggerated the physicality and beauty of the subject, with use of PRB techniques (detailed texture, bright color, ect), her depiction no longer represents the stereotypical depiction of feminine beauty. She is not submissive or complacent, but instead is depicted with having traits that are not "agreeable" or domestic.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this excerpt is speaking of the PRB's desire to challenge accepted societal morals, as well as typical depictions of femininity and other subject matter. The PRBs chose to paint more realistic depictions of their subjects, and through this painting they were able to give psychological insight into their subject's life instead of satiating their audience by sticking to stereotypical domestic and submissive female representations.
The PRB created friction, and at times discomfort. They achieved this by causing the audience to step outside of their comfort zone by stepping away from the norms of painting, through their (often) sexual or non-normative depictions of subject matter. Paintings were not only aesthetic but sought to create some sort of psychological insight and response.