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Invitations to Dream As there were a lot of new members, the Chairman, Elisabeth Cort, started the meeting by introducing the committee. She then said that bookings would be taken for a tour of Tates Modern and Britain on 10 March led by the lecturer who gave the hugely-successful talk on Modern Art. In his lecture ‘Painters of Myths and Dreams: England’s late Pre-Raphaelites’, Nicholas Bagshawe, who trained at Sotheby’s and is now an art dealer, looked at the group of British painters who painted subjects from classical myth, from Arthurian legend, from medieval folklore and from fairy tales. He began by describing how a group of young men, including Rossetti, Millais and Holman Hunt, formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848. Why ‘Pre-Raphaelite’? These artists felt that art had taken a wrong turn when Raphael and other Renaissance painters had idealised Nature and striven for beauty at the expense of truth. The Brotherhood took their inspiration from artists working before Raphael in the period between 1400 and 1450. They wanted to copy nature faithfully and to look more realistically at religion. Mr Bagshawe showed two paintings, one from the beginning of the movement and the other from the end. He showed the audience how the group developed with later artists being influenced by earlier ones. Because their approach was so radical, the group was initially derided by the critics. John Ruskin was instrumental in persuading the public to appreciate and value their work. Extraordinarily, Ruskin continued to praise the group even after Millais ran off with his young wife. Soon their work was much sought-after and Hunt’s 1856 ‘Light of the World’ became a standard inclusion in prayer books. Hunt was the only one of the Brotherhood to remain true to the ideals. Millais became a fashionable portrait painter. Rossetti moved from biblical to medieval and mythical themes. He loved painting red heads with long, flowing tresses. It was Rossetti who proved the link with the next generation of painters. He influenced William Morris and Burne-Jones who had travelled to Italy and studied the Renaissance artists. ‘The Beguiling of Merlin’ combines Rossetti’s imagination with Michelangelo’s execution in the depiction of this medieval story. Many of the paintings had no real subject but were invitations to dream of Avalon, King Arthur and the Round Table. Mr Bagshawe concluded his lecture by saying that these colourful, exciting, romantic pictures are now highly-prized by collectors. The lecturer skilfully wove in aspects from his experiences as a dealer and made many amusing asides. Although he clearly admires the pictures of this period, he critically assessed the paintings pointing out elements he felt were less successful. All in all, it was a most enjoyable and informative evening. CWDFAS is a member of NADFAS |
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CWDFAS is a member of NADFAS |
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