Ch.14 - Art in Victorian Britain, 1837-1901 Flashcards
Windsor Castle in Modern Times, 1841-45
Edwin Landseer
An inaccurate depiction of Queen Victoria’s relationship and everyday family life. This piece was meant to show the ideal or “role model” British family.
An emphasis on middle-class values. In this time, wealthy industrialists joined wealthy aristocrats. The Queen is dressed like a middle-class woman of the period, and is shown greeting her husband who has just returned from hunting.
The Poor Teacher, 1845
Richard Redgrave
A representation of a “working woman”. She has received a black-rimmed letter, which indicates a death in the family. This further alludes to that she doesn’t live with family.
She is saddened by the fact that she can’t leave work to attend the funeral; she can’t afford to
The philosophy of this piece is that if women work, they miss out on many important aspects of life. They don’t have family around to support them.
This philosophy is called “The Cult of True Womanhood”, which was about finding the true roles of gender. Men were intellectually superior, in a professional realm involving business and government. Women were conceived a morally and spiritually superior. Their place was in the home. Women should depend on the man
This woman Is a governess who is forced to work, because she has no man to provide for her. She can’t travel away from employers without them having a say in the matter, little control. There were 25,000 governesses in Britain in this time.
The plight of the moderately poor. Illicit sympathy, importance of natural roles
Christ in the Carpenter’s Shop, 1849-50
John Everett Millais
Millais’ goal was to show exactly how this scene would have looked from this period of time.
There are subtle symbols that call to Jesus, like the bowl of water, the nail, white dove on the ladder, Mary’s sympathy, etc.
An example of true P.R.B. Symbolic Realism
Even the most insignificant details are meticulously rendered with the greatest attention.
Critics hated these works.
Queen Victoria demanded this piece to be brought to her so she could critique it herself!
Ecce Ancilla Domini, 1849-1850
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
This piece was highly criticized for it’s didacticism. Rossetti likes the idea of using art to express ideas.
Practically the whole canvas is white, except the obvious symbolic red and blue details.
Blue is traditionally associated with the Virgin, and red suggests the blood of christ. White is purity.
Shows how the girl would have felt in an angel actually visited her. Lily is symbolic of virgin Mary
Odd, unusual religious painting which Rossetti felt had layers of truth in it.
The Awakening Conscience, 1853-54
William Holman Hunt
Shows the sudden remorse of a young prostitute, who has been entertaining a wealthy young man. She looks out a window, visible from the mirror in the background.
Symbolism shown in the cat who is toying with a bird on the carpet. Above the piano, there’s a woman in exactly the same pose as the mistress. Moral choices that a woman has to make is the theme
Prostitution was a powerful social reality. Women were under terrible labour conditions. Women would come to the city for work, find none, and be forced into prostitution. Prostitution was seen as the road not to take, the fallen woman lives a life of misery and guilt
At the Seaside, 1854
William Frith
Bought by Queen Victoria. Frith was an exact contemporary of Gustave Courbet, and they both shared an interest in depicting contemporary reality. They did this very differently, however
Courbet aimed to entertain the viewer, using a miniaturist style, which shows excessive/never-ending detail.
Idea of leisurely activity is really taking off in Britain at this time
Nameless and Friendless, 1857
Emily Mary Osborn
Women were not allowed to exhibit at the academy, and had a difficult time breaking into the art world. They were outside the “Old Boys” network.
A woman standing in a picture shop, trying to sell one of her paintings. Her clothes indicate she is a widow and is middle-class.
Middle class woman in a commercial place of work, because she is a widow with no more man to provide for her.
An example of the distressed woman, which invokes sympathy.
The boy almost seems more in charge than the woman
She is looking down, away from the art dealer, showing modesty (Prostitutes are shown looking at the viewer)
Men in the background are looking at the woman coming into a commercial establishment without a man.
Ties to dynamics of gender and work in Victorian England.
Art dealer is probably going to lowball her, while his assistant on the ladder is looking at it with a curious expression.
Nocturne in Black and Gold, 1875
J.A.M. Whistler
Nocturne is a musical term, suggesting an evening mood and the mood that is evoked by the evening moment.
Whistler saw this piece as the mood produced when fireworks were set off at Cremorne Gardens in London
Whistler once threw a can of paint at the face of the public
Whistler wasn’t about replicating reality. Acknowledging his medium, colour, and creating something aesthetically pleasing
What kinds of trends are found in this period?
With a greater balance of wealth, middle-class society is now in the market for art, and they begin to dictate movement, decoration, and taste
Landscape painting morphed into more than just simple landscapes. They were made into spectacles. They could be sold on display, and then prints would be sold as well. Continuing interest in the supernatural.
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is formed by Millais, Holman Hunt, and Rossetti. Raphael was the epitome of the renaissance artists, and the P.R.B. felt that everything being depicted lacked substance and truth, so they looked to artists that were popular before Raphael, like Botticelli, Ghirlandaio (who taught Michelangelo), and Perugino. They were also interested in subjects that aren’t sentimental, they looked to the legends of King Arthur, Shakespeare’s plays. Occasionally they would look to the bible and reinterpret in a totally new way. Millais wanted to depict scenes from the bible in accurate ways that were never before seen. Wanted to show a real accurate scene exactly as it would have looked in the time of Jesus. Critics hated these works.
