The pre-raphaelite children of Sir John Everett Millais (1840 ? 1896)

Résumé du document

In 1855, John Everett Millais begins one of his most intriguing paintings, the painting that will mark his career as one of the founders of the PRB. His models are a group of young girls, all of them under 13, allegedly chosen for their youth and beauty. Between 1856 and 1868, John Everett Millais and his wife Effie had eight children and all of them sat for the paintings of their father. But children and childhood are far from being used as mere accessory models. On the contrary, they are central to Millais's work. Many of Millais's paintings are technically organised around one or several children, exploring their activities and environment. In this sense, the figure of the child seems to acquire a primordial importance and becomes a source of inspiration. The figures of children, as we shall see further, allows the development of a large number of themes. Millais explores the world of a child from a variety of points of views which have social and philosophical implications. Many are overtly sentimental, while others are less so. However, almost all of them have the character, atmosphere and symbolic of the PRB. Broadly speaking, John Everett Millais's paintings of children fall into two main groups. On one hand, he has produced numerous portraits of children with adults. On the other, he painted a variety of portraits of children on their own. These two groups can be repartitioned throughout the years, the beginning of Millais's career (up to 1862) being mostly devoted to groups of children and children, accompanied by adults. From 1862 onwards, Millais produced a greater number of portraits of children alone with a few exceptions.

Extraits

[...] The figure of Christ as a child is at the crossing point of every single gaze in the painting with that of the spectator. In the same fashion, in The Order of Release (1753) Millais naturally guides the spectator's gaze towards the sleeping child. The open door and the bent head of the soldier lead naturally to the father, leaning on his wife. The curve of her scarf encapsulates the baby and the whiteness of its skin brings it forward in such a way that the line of vision falls almost immediately and always returns to the child. [...]

[...] Finally, we will examine the portrayal of girls throughout Millais' career. From 1950 to 1857 approximately, Millais paints the larger part of what are considered today as his Pre-Raphaelite works proper, among which are the notorious Christ in the House of His Parents (1850) but also The Woodman's Daughter (1851), The Order of Release (1853), The Rescue (1855), and Sir Isumbras (1857). However, the portrait of James Wyatt and his Granddaughter Mary (1849) already obeys the principles of Pre-Raphaelitism, especially when it comes to the outside setting. [...]

[...] The Woodman's Daughter (1850 for example, is built on the typically Pre-Raphaelite subject of the tortured woman, based on Coventry Patmore's story of a friendship and impossible love, resulting in death, infanticide and madness. The choice of subjects is particular since Millais chose to portray them as a boy and girl, the girl being neglected by the father who is turning his back to her, preoccupied by his everyday work. The ambiguity of the Pre-Raphaelite woman springs from the clash between the subject and the objects depicted. [...]

[...] The effect achieved is one of intense luminosity and warmth, slightly restrained by the coldness of the patch of blue sky. The impression of the spectator is that of witnessing a communion. Right in front of our eyes, a link is being created with an unknown, unseen dimension and the link becomes all the more stronger when we learn that the instrument on the girl's lap was painted from a real model that belonged to a girl who dies some months before the completion of the painting (Parris 135). [...]

[...] The pre-raphaelite children of Sir John Everett Millais (1840 1896) In 1855, John Everett Millais begins one of his most intriguing paintings the painting that will mark his career as one of the founders of the PRB. His models are a group of young girls, all of them under 13, allegedly chosen for their youth and beauty. Between 1856 and 1868, John Everett Millais and his wife Effie had eight children and all of them sat for the paintings of their father. [...]