Pencil on paper
37.2 x 28.7 cm
14 5/8 x 11 1/4 in
14 5/8 x 11 1/4 in
At the Royal Academy in 1848, William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais formed a group that would revitalise the Western artistic tradition. The group, the...
At the Royal Academy in 1848, William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais formed a group that would revitalise the Western artistic tradition. The group, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), would become the first avant-garde movement in the history of art.
Armed with the dictum 'truth to nature', they sought to return art to its Medieval roots. Their art would be untainted by the stultifying visual language that had been imposed by mannerism in the Renaissance. With work defined by precise representation of empirical experience, the PRB represented a decisive break with the British art establishment. Far from being seen to express a noble dedication to the essential, their work was smeared with scandal. One exception to initial criticism Holman Hunt’s work however, was the painting, ‘The Hireling Shepherd’ (1851), for which we believe this drawing to be a preparatory sketch. Emitting something of Hunt’s vivid dreamscapes, the sketch is a compelling demonstration of his working method and represents a glimpse into an important moment in the history of art.
Armed with the dictum 'truth to nature', they sought to return art to its Medieval roots. Their art would be untainted by the stultifying visual language that had been imposed by mannerism in the Renaissance. With work defined by precise representation of empirical experience, the PRB represented a decisive break with the British art establishment. Far from being seen to express a noble dedication to the essential, their work was smeared with scandal. One exception to initial criticism Holman Hunt’s work however, was the painting, ‘The Hireling Shepherd’ (1851), for which we believe this drawing to be a preparatory sketch. Emitting something of Hunt’s vivid dreamscapes, the sketch is a compelling demonstration of his working method and represents a glimpse into an important moment in the history of art.