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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