April Love

Behind the Paint

Arthur Hughes (1832 -1915)

Pre-Raphaelitism“advocated a return to the sincerity and authenticity of the art prior to Raphael (101)”

A non-memberOnly sixteen when the PRB was established in 1848

Arthur Hughes

Influenced by:The GermJohn Everett Millais

“His works are noted for their magical, glowing colouring and delicate draughtsmanship (Wikipedia).”Never painted fallen womenOther prominent works

The Long Engagement

A Work in Progress

A pencil and ink wash of April Love

April Love

Oil on canvas

SettingThe garden of a Mr. Cutbush at Maidstone, Kent

The subjectsTryphena Foord

Alexander Munro

Completed in 1855Married Tryphena Foord

Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856

The battle John Ruskin vs. William Morris

John Ruskin

William Morris

First Impressions

A quick glance…We find “delight in the fresh vulnerable beauty of this girl, this slender spring flower; sheer aesthetic delight in the colours of the composition (101).”

The Miller’s Daughter

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Accompanied the painting in its premiere in 1856Love is hurt with jar and fret,

Love is made a vague regret; Eyes with idle tears are set, Idle habit links us yet; What is Love? For we forget. Ah no, no.

A Closer Look

The Background

In the background“One of them standing paramount, a bright virginal presence, the other one dark, disquieting and hardly to be descried at all – make passion appear…(105).”

Suitor

Aurora Leigh’s Dismissal of Romney

The Face

John Ruskin – ‘…most subtle in the quivering expression of the lips and the sweetness of the tender face shaken like a leaf by winds upon the dew and hesitating back into peace (103).’‘The girl is just between joy and pain – of course her face in unintelligible, all a-quiver – like an April sky when you do not know whether the dart of it is blue – or raincloud (sic) (106).’

The Rose

PlacementIn suitor’s hand

Strewn on the floor

SymbolismFemale virginity

The Dress

Out of the ordinaryContemporary Victorian dress

“Hughes meant and achieved more than a mere period piece, more than yet another illustration of the Victorian tryst; the language of colors, the striking use of light and shade impress the conviction upon the viewer without the need of any biographical hint (106).”

Color

Cerulean blue – evocative of all unattainable horizons (111)

Green of vegetation – repeatedly doomed to die as Persephone is yearly ravished

from the earth (111)Grasping and abandoned hand, desperate begging and half-hearted granting –

the elements of Water and Air fighting against Earth and Fire (111)Parasitic ivy –

a warning not to let oneself weigh down and fasten by sordid cares alien to man’s true nature, an entreaty not to forget one’s heavenly origin (107)Man in the background –

vampire-like; blot out and drink up and sweep away (107)

The Conflict

Experience life’s brilliance and accept the cycle of death

Denial of self, which may be the only way to immortality – this is synonymous to death

Sources

Wikipedia.org

Persyn, Catherine. “‘Sic Luceat Lux Vestra’: A Study of Arthur Hughes’s April Love.” Religion and the Arts 9, no. 1-2 (2005): 101-115.

Index of Pictures

Arthur Hughes http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/hughes/index.html

The Germ http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/97prbr.html

The Long Engagement painting http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/hughes/p-hughes7.htm

April Love ink wash http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=6958&searchid=8347April Love painting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Arthur_Hughes_001.jpgThe Royal Academy

http://www.georgeglazer.com/prints/portraits/singletonroyal.htmlJohn Ruskin

http://home.arcor.de/oscar.wilde/pictures/ruskin.308x436.jpgWilliam Morris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wmmorris3248.jpgAurora Leigh’s Dismissal of Romney http://tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=6956&searchid=13044&tabview=imageThe Orange Rose

http://www.patrickhamilton.com/images/Orange_rose_sizes.jpg