Millais- Robert Holmes Collection (1908)

Page 1

Millais

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Mi m' 'fS?*?

MASTERPIECES IN

COLOUR


IN

M^MOMA

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MASTERPIECES IN COLOUR EDITED BY T.

-

-

LEMAN HARE

MILLAIS 1829--1S96


"Masterpieces in Colour" Series Author.

Artist.

BELLINI. BOTTICELLI.

Georgb Hay.

BOUCHER.

Henry B. Binns. C. Haldane MacFall.

burne.jones.

A. Ly3 Baldry.

carlo dolci.

George Hay. Paul G. Konody.

CHARDIN. constable. COROT. DA VINCL DELACROIX.

C. Lewis Hind.

Sidney Allnutt.

M. W. B ROCKWELL. Paul G. Konody.

DtTRER.

H. E. A. Furst.

FRA ANGELICO. FRA FILIPPO LIPPI. FRAGONARD. FRANZ HALS. GAINSBOROUGH

James Mason. Paul G. Konody. Haldane MacFall.

C

Edgcumbe Staley.

Max

HOLBEIN.

Rothschild. Alys Eyre MackLi.j. C. Lewis Hind. S. L. Bensusan.

HOLMAN HUNT.

Mary

GREUZE.

HOGARTH. INGRES.

LAWRENCE. LE BRUN, VIGEE. LEIGHTON. LUINL MANTEGNA. MEMLINC.

E. Coleridge. A. J. FiNBERG. S. L.

C.

Bensusan.

Haldane MacFail

MILLET.

A. Lys Baldry, James Mason. Mrs. Arthur Bell. W. H. J. & J. C. Wealb. A. Lys Baldry. Percy M. Turner.

MURILLO. PERUGINO. RAEBURN. RAPHAEL.

Sblwyn Brinton. James L. Caw. Paul G. Konody.

MILLAIS.

REMBRANDT. REYNOLDS.

ROMNEY. ROSSETTl RUBENS. SARGENT.

S. L.

Bensusan.

JosEP Israels. S. L. Bensusan. C. Lewis Hind. LuciBN Pissarro. S. L. Bensusan. T.

Martin Wood.

TINTORETTO

S. L.

TITIAN.

S. L.

WATTEAU.

Bensusan. Bensusan. C. Lewis Hind. Percy M. Turner. S. L. Bensusan. C. Lewis Hinb.

WATTS. WHISTLER.

T.

TURNER. VAN DYCK. VELAZQUEZ.

W. LoFTUs Hark. Martin Wood

Others in Preparation.


PLATE

I.—THE

ORDER OF RELEASE.

Frontispiece

(Tate GaUery)

one of the pictures which Millais always reckoned among all his successes, and that it has many notable qualities which justify his preference can certainly not be denied. It is wonderful in its earnest and thoughtful reali:m, and it explains its motive with a completeness that is most convincing. The expression on the face of the woman who brings the order which frees her husband from prison is singularly happy in its combination of tenderness for the wounded Highlander, and triumph over the hesiThis

is

the greatest of

tating gaoler;

joyous

and there are many other little touches, like the of the dog, and the unconsciousness of the which amplify and perfect the pictorial story.

effusiveness

sleeping child,





Millais

LYS BALDRY 速 m 速 ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHT REPRODUCTIONS IN COLOUR

BY

A.

LONDON:

T.

C.

&

NEW YORK: FREDERICK

E.

A.

C.

JACK

STOKES

CO.


J^

3/


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I.

The Order At

of Release, 1746

the Tate

Frontispiece

.

GaUery

Page II.

The Boyhood At

III.

of Raleigh

.

,

.

.

14

the Tate GaUery

The Knight Errant

24

At the Tate GaUery

IV.

Autumn Leaves

34

At Manchester Art GaUery

V. Speak

1

Speak

40

!

At the Tate GaUery

VI.

The Vale

of Rest

50

At the Tate GaUery

VII. Ophelia

60

.

At the Tate GaUery

VIII.

The North- West Passage At thÂŤ Tate GaUery is

...

70



AS xjL

a record of some half century of brilliant

and of practically

activity,

unbroken success, the Everett unlike

the

Millais

those

life-story

many

in

is

which

can

majority of artists

be

of John

respects

told

who have

about played

great parts in the modern art world. XI

He


MILLAIS

12

had none of the hard struggle tion, or of

stances,

for recogni-

the fight against adverse circum-

which have too often embittered

the earlier years of

men

destined to take

eventually the highest rank in their profession.

Things went well with him from the

first;

he gained attention at an age when

most painters have barely begun to make a bid

for popularity,

assured

and

his position

was

almost before he had arrived at

man's estate.

no doubt, to

He owed some his

personaUty, but

it

of his success,

attractive

and vigorous

was due

in far greater

measure to the extraordinary powers which he manifested from the very outset of his career.

For there was something almost sensational in the

manner of

his unusual precocity,

his development, in

and

in

the youthful


PLATE 11—THE BOYHOOD OF RALEIGH (Tate Gallery) It would not be inappropriate to describe the " Boyhood of Raleigh " as the prologue to the romance of which the last chapter is

written in the

"North-West Passage,"

for in both pictures the artist

Young Raleigh and life. boy friend are under the spell of the story which the sailor is telling them, a story evidently of engrossing interest and stimulating suggests the fascination of the adventurous

his

to the imagination.

The

faces of the lads

show how inspiring they beyond the sea.

find this tale of strange experiences in lands





MILLAIS self-confidence

15

which enabled him to take

a prominent place among the leaders of opinion

artistic

while

more than a boy.

So

he

was

early

little

still

was

the proof

given that he possessed absolutely uncom-

mon

powers, that he was not more than

nine years old

when he began

serious art

training; and so evident even then

destiny that this training

was

his

was commenced

on the advice of Sir Martin Archer Shee, the

President

whom

of the

the child's

Royal Academy, to

performances had

been

submitted by parents anxious for an expert opinion.

The

President's declaration

he saw these early

had provided

for

efforts,

that

when

"nature

the boy's success,"

was

emphatic enough to dissipate any doubts there

young

might have

been

was

to be

Millais

whether

or

encouraged

not

in his


MILLAIS

i6

artistic inclinations

was

justified

;

and that

by subsequent

this

emphasis

no one

results

to-day can dispute.

The family from which Millais sprang was not one with any past record of art achievement. His ancestors were men of and inclined rather to be

action

than students of the

mans who had for

several

among

fighters

They were Nor-

arts.

settled in Jersey,

and had

been

counted

hundred

years

the more important landholders in

that island, where at different times they

held

several

estates.

tors

Millais

derived

From his

perament and that militant

these

ances-

energetic

tem-

activity

which

enabled him in his career as an artist to

triumph dices

signally

— the

over

qualities

helped him to

make

established

which his

preju-

undoubtedly

power

felt

even


MILLAIS by the

17

who were most opposed

people

to him.

He was

on June

born

8th,

1829,

at

Southampton, where his parents were temporarily living, but his earliest years

spent in Jersey.

began to show

It

definitely

was

cUnations; he

was

at

in

were

1835 that he

his

artistic

in-

Dinan then with

his

parents and he amused himself there by

making sketches of the country and people with

success

so

remarkable

that

even

strangers did not hesitate to recognise him

as a budding this estimate

genius.

Three years

was confirmed by

later

Sir Martin

Archer Shee, and the boy was then sent to

work

at the art school which

Henry Sass

carried on in Bloomsbury, a school which

had at that time a considerable reputation as a training place for art students, and in B


MILLAIS

i8

which most of the early Victorian painters received their preliminary education.

Soon

after

he entered

this school Millais

gave a very striking proof of

his precocious

ability—he gained the silver medal of the

Society of Arts for a drawing of the an-

and an amusing story

tique,

is

told of the

when he appeared at the prize-giving to receive his award. The Duke of Sussex was presiding at the meetsensation he created

ing,

of

and to

"Mr

tion

amazement, when the name

Millais"

presented medal.

his

was

called,

himself as

the

To amazement

when a

a small child winner of the

succeeded admira-

consultation with the officials

of the Society proved that this boy of nine

was

really

the successful competitor, and

the presentation

was

received with great

applause by the spectators of the scene.


MILLAIS two

After

some study dition,

years'

19

work under Sass, with

Museum

in the British

in ad-

he was admitted into the schools of

the Royal Academy, and, though his age

then was

only

immediately to prove hold his tivity.

own

he

eleven,

in

this

how new

began almost well he

could

sphere of ac-

During the six years over which

his studentship at the

he won every prize

and carried historical

for

Academy extended which he competed,

off finally the

gold medal for

painting with a picture of

"The

Tribe of Benjamin Seizing the Daughters of Shiloh."

This was

vious year he had

in 1847; in the pre-

made

his first

appear-

ance as an exhibitor at the Academy with

an ambitious composition, "Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru," which Victoria

is

and Albert Museum.

now His

in

the

most


MILLAIS

20

ambitious effort at this period was, however, the design,

"The Widow Bestowing

her Mite," which he produced in 1847 for the Westminster Hall competition, a vast

canvas crowded with

life-sized figures

was remarkable enough

which

made

to have

the

more experi-

reputation of a far older and

enced painter.

So

progress had been without

far his

interruption.

The

rare

brilliancy

of

student career had gained him the approval of his fellow-workers in

his

fullest

art,

and

he was beginning his career as a producer with every prospect of becoming immediately one of the time.

most popular

Everything was

had undeniable

ability,

attractive personality, in

many ways

that,

in

good

artists of his

his

favour; he

health,

and an

and he had proved

young as he was, he


MILLAIS

21

could handle large undertakings with sound

judgment and complete confidence. with what seemed to be his

Yet,

way smooth

before him, he did not hesitate to risk his

already assured position in the art world

by setting himself openly the

opinions

who were

in opposition to

of practically

all

the

men

then counted as the leaders of

That he knew what might

his profession.

be the penalty he would have to pay rebellion

this

against the

fashion

for

of the

moment can scarcely be doubted, but he was by nature too strenuous a fighter to be daunted by dangerous his convictions,

possibilities,

and

once formed, were always

too strong to yield to any considerations of expediency. In his

1848,

own

he and two friends of about

age, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and


MILLAIS

22

William Holman Hunt, conceived the idea of

making a

practical protest against the

inefficiency of the

work which was being

done by the more popular

The

time.

artists

three youths had

the influence of Ford

of the

come under

Madox Brown, who

with splendid sincerity was labouring to realise

but

an

ideal

upon an

based not upon fashion,

earnest

desire

for ^truthful

expression, and by his example they were

induced to study a purer type of art than

any they could see about them. purer

art

they

turned

to

the

For

this

works of

the Italian Primitives, whose childlike unconventionality and unhesitating naturalism

touched a responsive chord of these youths

who

still

in the natures

retained

the simple faith in reaUty which the

charms of childhood.

some of is

one of

They decided


PLATE III.-THE KNIGHT ERRANT (Tate Gallery) It is

generally recognised that the effective representation of the

nude figure imposes the severest test not only upon an artist's powers of drawing and painting but upon his sense of aesthetic propriety as v/ell. The " Knight Errant " proves beyond dispute that Millais

was

able to pass this test triumphantly, for the picture

a magnificent technical achievement and is absolutely discreet in treatment. The subject, a lady rescued from robbers by a wandering knight, is one which occurs frequently in mediaeval romance.

is





MILLAIS

25

that for the future they would base their

upon that of the early

practice

own

Italians,

and that they would have none of the

artifi-

of the age in which they found

ciaUties

themselves.

Their resolve was a bold one,

but the manner in which they proceeded to

make it They

effective

was bolder

still.

organised an association, the

of which,

"The Pre-RaphaeHte

title

Brother-

hood," significantly asserted the nature of their artistic aims,

and as the founders of

this association they

pledged themselves to

seek the inspiration of their art Italian

painters

who

had

in

lived

those before

Raphael

was

principles

were abandoned by Raphael and

born,

his successors.

the

Brotherhood

painters,

James

To

and

whose

sterling

the three founders of

were joined two other Collinson,

and

F.

G.


MILLAIS

26

Thomas Woolner and

Stephens, a sculptor,

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's brother, William Michael, who, being a writer, the office of secretary.

so constituted,

was

was given

The Brotherhood,

formally inaugurated in

the autumn of 1848, and the

members

at

once set to work to prove by their acts the reality of their belief in the creed they

had adopted.

The

first

fruits

of the

movement were

seen in the following spring at the Aca-

demy where be

Millais,

remembered,

who was

not

quite

then,

it

twenty,

must exhi-

bited his " Lorenzo and Isabella," a picture striking in its originality

power.

What

it

implied

and

in its

was

not,

immediately realised by the

it

however,

public;

that

made it very was surrounded

the manner of the painting unlike those by which

unusual


MILLAIS was if

27

generally recognised, but most people,

they thought about the matter at

seem had

to failed

all,

have assumed that the painter to bring himself into line with

the art of his time through youthful inexperience rather than by deliberate inten-

Time and

tion.

practice,

they considered,

would correct such deficiencies

were apparent bella,"

in

in taste as

the "Lorenzo and

Isa-

and when the lad had arrived at

years of discretion he would be the to see the necessity for

first

amendment.

But the members of the Brotherhood, probably feeling that their not

produced

quite

the

initial effort

effect

had

intended,

took other steps to define their attitude.

They

started, in

January 1850, a magazine

The Gemiy which was proffered as the organ of the new movement. It called


MILLAIS

28 was

sufficiently

of faith, and neither

fession its

illustrations

it

lenge to

were wanting

was intended all

to be,

text nor

in clearness

indeed,

was

an open chal-

the advocates of the old order

of things; and as such

the people

in its con-

its

The magazine,

of statement.

what

uncompromising

who saw

it.

it

It

was taken by

was only

in ex-

istence for four months, but even in that

short time

it

did its

work thoroughly, and

put an end to any doubts there were in the minds of art lovers and art workers

concerning itism

;

the

meaning of Pre-Raphael-

thenceforward Millais and his friends

had certainly no reason

to

complain of

being ignored.

The pictures hibition

was given to the they sent to the 1850 Academy exwas, however, by no means what

attention which


MILLAIS

29

they desired, though, doubtless,

must have

it

been much what they expected. exhibited

and

a

"Portrait

his Grandchild,**

and "Christ

Ariel,"

Parents penter's

"

— better

the House of His

known

as

"The

Car-

these visible embodi-

ments of the principles

Germ were

Gentleman

"Ferdinand Lured by in

Shop"— and

a

of

Millais

received

down

laid

an

with

The

in

absolute

The audacity of the young painters who sought by works of this character to discredit the smug and artificial respectability of the art which was storm

of

abuse.

then in vogue excited the

critics

beyond

control and brought forth a veritable orgie

of virulent expostulation. Millais, with his

mind made up and

fighting instinct fully roused,

man

to yield to clamour.

his

was not the

He made no

con-


MILLAIS

30

cessions, but, loyally supporting the policy

of the

demy

Brotherhood, showed at the Aca-

in 1851

"Mariana

the

in

"The Return of

"The Woodman's Moated

Grange,"

Dove

to the Ark,"

of the

were

which

Daughter,"

as

frank

their

in

and all

Pre-

Raphaelitism as any of the previous year's

and

canvases,

all

of which were greeted

with even more vehement disapproval by the literary custodians of the popular taste.

Every possible kind of misrepresentation of the aims of the young painter and his

was employed

friends efforts,

all

from

insult

the

chosen.

Academy

discredit

sorts of base motives

puted to them

and

to

;

ridicule, specious

were used course

were imargument,

in turn to drive

they

had

their

them

deliberately

Appeals were even made to the to

have

the

pictures,

round


MILLAIS which

this

controversy

31

was

moved summarily from the

raging,

exhibition

things unfit to be set before the

the

as

eyes of

But fortunately the courage

the public. of

re-

Brotherhood

was

proof

against

everything which the opposition could do,

and neither abuse nor threats had any effect.

Yet Millais at the time suffered

principles;

his

for

paintings which had been

commissioned were thrown upon his hands,

and able.

his pictures almost ceased to

He had

be

sale-

every proof that his

Pre-

Raphaelitism was commercially a mistake

and

that,

if

he

persisted,

the

absolute

marring of his career as a popular painter,

was more than likely, yet, so stubborn was his conviction that he made no change in either his principles or his practice.

Happily, as time went on, the position


MILLAIS

32

of affairs began to improve

exhausted

itself

;

the opposition

by excess of

violence,

and

movement took up

able champions of the

the cudgels in defence of the young artists.

One

the

of

most authoritative of these

champions was Ruskin, who found

in this

apparently forlorn hope infinite possibilities

whose declaration

of artistic progress, and

that the Pre-Raphaelites were laying "the

foundations of a school of art nobler than the world has seen for three hundred years

generously expressed

wards

the

his

Brotherhood.

trouble to study their art, their motives, so that he

not upon

sentiments

He

took

artistic

demand

the

based his advocacy

principles

were sane and sound enough to his exacting

to-

and to analyse

vague sympathy but upon

understanding of

"

real

which

satisfy

even

for purity of aesthetic


PLATE IV.-AUTUMN LEAVES (Manchester Art Gallery)

As an example terises so

many

of the quiet

and unforced sentiment which characwhich Millais painted, this delightful

of the pictures

composition deserves particular consideration.

It

has a certain

and solemnity of manner, but in its suggestion of the sadness of autumn there is no trace of morbid sentimentality and no kind of theatrical effect. The picture is a sort of allegory expressed with exquisite tenderness, and with a simple frankness of manner which is especially persuasive. severity of design





—

MILLAIS purpose.

35

That the ultimate success of Pre-

Raphaelitism was due to his energetic

in-

terposition cannot, of course, be claimed

the boldness

and tenacity of the

who had adopted

the

new

artists

creed had more to

do with the improvement which was brought about in the popular attitude

—but

Ruskin's

counter attack upon the critics had a valuable effect, and undoubtedly helped greatly to

open the eyes of the

public.

It is interesting, too, to

the the

moment when the attack was fiercest Royal Academy showed its faith in

Millais is

note that just at

by electing him an Associate.

He

said to have been the youngest student

ever received

into

the

Academy

schools,

and he must have been one of the youngest painters ever chosen as an Associate, for after his election

it

was discovered

that he


MILLAIS

36

had not reached the age at which, under

Academy ciateship was the

rules,

admission to the Asso-

possible.

So

his election

had

to be declared invalid

and he had to wait

some few years longer

—until

official

1853—for the

recognition of his claims.

must assuredly be counted to the

But

it

credit of

Academy that such readiness should have been shown to admit the ability of a

the

young

artist

who was

openly in rebellion

against the fashions of his time, and whose

work was by

much members

of

that

implication a condemnation

was being done even by

of the Academic circle.

His election

in

matter of course;

won

his

way

to

1853

came more as a

by that date he had a position which could

scarcely be questioned even by the bitterest

opponents of Pre-Raphaelitism, and he had


"

MILLAIS laid

37

foundations

securely the

of that

re-

markable popularity which he was destined to enjoy for the rest of his

It

life.

would

have been hard, indeed, to deny that he deserved whatever artistic merit of the

pictures

rewards were due to highest order, for his

had passed well beyond the stage

commandHis "Ophelia" and "The

of brilliant promise into that of

ing achievement.

Huguenot "

in 1852, his "

and "The Proscribed

and in

Order of Release "

Royalist"

his exquisite " Portrait of

1854,

are to

in

1853,

Mr. Ruskin

be accounted as masterly

performances which would have done credit to

a painter whose

skill

matured by more than half a strenuous tions of a

effort,

full

had been lifetime

of

and which, as the produc-

young man who did not reach

his twenty-fifth birthday until the

summer


MILLAIS

38

of i8S4, are of really extraordinary import-

The "Ophelia," "The Huguenot," and "The Order of Release," can be placed, indeed, among the most memorable exance.

positions of his artistic conviction,

and the

"Portrait of Mr. Ruskin" ranks with the

"Ophelia" as one of the most astonishing

examples of searching and

which can be found

faithful

modern

in

study

art.

These pictures were followed

closely

by

—by

"The Rescue" in 1855, by "Autumn Leaves," "The Random Shot," "The Blind Girl," and "Peace Conothers not less notable

eluded," in 1856, and

the Ford,"

"News

by "Sir Isumbras at

"The Escape

from Home,'*

of a Heretic," and

in 1857.

Of

this

group

"Sir Isumbras at the Ford" was the least successful, but

"Autumn Leaves," with

its

exquisite delicacy of sentiment, and those


PLATE

V.

-SPEAK SPEAK! !

(Tate Gallery)

To

the

man who

him

has loved and

lost,

the vision of his lady appear-

dawn seems

so real and living that he begs her to speak to him, and stretches out his arms to clasp what is after all only a creation of his imagination. The dramatic

ing to

as he

lies

awake

at

feeling of the picture is as convincing as its pathos

;

the painter has

grasped completely the possibilities of his subject, and he story with just the touch of mystery needed to give

The management

it

tells his

due

signifi-

and shade, and of the contrast between the warm lamplight and the greyness of the early morning, is full of both power and subtlety.

cance.

of the light





MILLAIS two

41 "The

delightful little canvases,

Girl,"

and "The

supreme

Random

interest both

Blind of

are

Shot,"

on account of the

depth of thought which they reveal and of their splendid executive accomplishment.

Another great picture appeared

—"The

Vale of Rest," which differed from

most of the works which produced

had hitherto

Millais

handling

in its larger qualities of

and more serious symbolism. importance was not artistes

in 1859

admirers

fully

when

it

Its

realised

was

first

but Millais himself looked upon best thing he had done

;

and

special

by the

exhibited, it

as the

this opinion

has since been generally recognised as ciently well founded.

He had

shown so much solemnity of quite

so

pictorial

suffi-

not before feeling

nor

complete a grasp of the larger essentials,

though

in

"Autumn


MILLAIS

42

Leaves" there was decidedly more than a hint of the seriousness of purpose

which

gave authority and dignity of

"The

style to

Vale of Rest."

There was at over his

art,

this

time a change coming

a change which suggested

that the stricter limits of Pre-Raphaelitism

were a his

little

too narrow for him

youthful enthusiasms

now

that

were being

re-

placed by the more tolerant ideas of mental maturity.

abandon

But he

cover

in

no

his earlier principles;

rather to find to

was

how

artistic

haste to

he sought

they might be widened

motives which

came within the scope

of

the

scarcely

creed

to

which the Brotherhood had originally been

So he alternated between the literalism of "The Black Brunswicker" {i860), "The White Cockade" (1862), "My pledged.


MILLAIS First

Sermon "

(1864),

(1863), "

43

My Second Sermon

''

and "Asleep" and "Awake," which

were shown

in

all his earlier

1867 with that daintiest of

paintings,

"The

Minuet," and

the sombre suggestion of such imaginative

"The Enemy Sowing

pictures as

and the

finely

conceived " Eve of St. Agnes,"

of which the former

Academy

in 1865,

seemed as

mind as

Tares,"

was exhibited

and the

at the

latter in 1863.

It

he was trying to make up his

if

to the direction he

for the future, testing his

was

powers

to take

in various

ways, and studying himself to see

how

his

wishes and his temperament could best be

brought into accord.

But when art world in

in 1868

he broke into the new

which he was to reign supreme

for nearly thirty years, his

abandonment of

the technical methods which he had adopted


MILLAIS

44 in 1849, 3^^d

used ever since with compara-

was as

tively little modification,

was

surprising.

In

careful,

searching,

and

it

small

details,

exactly

he

precise

had

matter-of-fact

and

what

examined.

His

were

almost

vein,

of

of

record

microscopically "

student

brushwork,

in

" Asleep " and " Awake

he was the

literal

his

in

realistic

1867

decisive as

in his

most

pedantically

accurate in statement of obvious facts

;

and

even his charming " Minuet " was elaborated with a care that nation this

to

left

supply.

dwelling

upon

nothing for the imagiIn

1868,

little

however,

things,

all

all

this

studied minuteness of touch and literal presentation of

disappeared.

what was obvious, had suddenly All that

his Pre-Raphaelitism

vision

remained to him of

was the acuteness

which had served him so well

of for


MILLAIS twenty years of nature;

45

his intimate examination

in

everything else

had gone,

his

minute actuality was replaced by large and generous suggestion, his restrained brush-

work by the broadest and most emphatic handling, his

view by a kind of

realistic

magnificent impressionism which expressed rightly

the

enough the personal robustness of

man

himself.

What made

this

change the more dra-

matic was the absence of any suggestion in his

work

previous

that he

was prepar-

ing for an executive departure of such a

marked

kind.

of subjects,

A or

diversion into a

an

inclination

new

towards a

more serious type of sentiment, might haps have been looked of

"The Vale

of Rest,"

ing Tares," and

for

class

per-

from the painter

"The Enemy Sow-

"The Eve

of St. Agnes,"


MILLAIS

46

but even in the larger manner of these pictures, there

desired

"Stella,"

"The

little

adopt a

to

But

ing.

was

if

to imply that he

new mode

of paint-

the "Souvenir of Velazquez,"

"The

Sisters,"

Pilgrims to St. PauFs," and

which

he contributed to

the 1868 Academy, are compared with what

he had done before, the

full

significance

of his action can be perceived.

The "Souvenir is

of Velazquez,"

indeed,

one of the most decisive pieces of fluent

brushwork which has been produced by

any modern painter of the British It

is

and

entirely convincing in in its

gestion, is

directness

summariness of executive sug-

and as a masterly performance

it

by no means unworthy to stand beside

the works of that master to in

its

school.

some

sort designed as

a

whom tribute.

it

was But


MILLAIS it

has a peculiarly English charm which grafted

Millais

to

with

technical

the

school, is

47

happy discretion on

manner of the Spanish

and as a study of

childish grace

almost inimitably persuasive.

princesses

whom

The

it

little

Velazquez painted were

too often robbed of their daintiness by the formality of the surroundings in which

was

their misfortune to

child

in

picture

this

be placed, but the

by Millais has

none of her freshness, and, with finery,

is

a happy, young,

still

little

all

lost

her

thing,

ready for a romp as soon as the sitting over.

In

the

long

it

series

of

is

fascinating

studies of child-life which he painted with quite exquisite

sympathy, this one claims

a place of

particular

count of

beauty of characterisation, and

its

its

entire absence

prominence on ac-

of affectation, quite as


MILLAIS

48 much

as

it

does on account of

its qualities

as a consummate exercise in craftsmanship.

This was the canvas which he

Academy as

decided to hand over to the his diploma work.

He had been promoted

to the rank of Academician his intention then in

finally

was

in

to be

the Diploma Gallery by

1863,

and

represented

"The Enemy

Sowing Tares," which he regarded as every

But

way a sound example

in

of his powers.

his fellow-Academicians, for

some not

very intelligible reason, did not agree with

him about the and

it

suitability

of this picture,

was, therefore, refused.

So he

them the " Souvenir of Velazquez " a fortunate choice,

for

it

sent

instead,

brought perma-

nently into a quasi-public gallery what

is

indisputably an achievement worthy of him at his best.


;

PLATE VI.—THE VALE OF REST (Tate Gallery)

None Millais

of the pictures

was

still

said to surpass

and

certainly

a

which can be assigned

"The

none expresses better in

treatment the

to the period

when

adherent to the Pre-Raphaelite creed can be Vale of Rest " in depth and purity of feeling

strict

artist's

conception.

its

character and

The same

manner

of

exquisite sentiment,

which distinguishes " Autumn Leaves " gives Rest" an absorbing interest; and the way in which every detail of the composition and every subtlety in the arrangement and expression of the subject have been used to enhance the effect which the artist intended to produce, claims sincere

to

and

dignified,

"The Vale

of

unqualified admiration.





MILLAIS Once

on

started

his

51

new

direction as

a painter he went forward with unhesitating confidence in his ability to realise his

and as the years passed

intentions,

by he added picture

company of

large

already

picture to

after

his

the

successes.

His admirers, surprised as they were at first

by

his startling

not hesitate offer;

accept

to

indeed

change of manner, did

the

what he had

splendid

to

vigour of his

work brought him an immediate increase of popularity, and he was thenceforth re-

home and abroad as one of most commanding figures in the whole

cognised at the

array

of British

art,

authority

was not

In

he

"Nina,

1869

as a leader whose

to be questioned.

exhibited

his

portrait

Daughter of F. Lehmann,

"The Gambler's

of

Esq.,**

Wife," a "Portrait of Sir


MILLAIS

52

John Fowler," and "Vanessa," a companion picture to his "Stella;" and in 1870 "A

Widow's Mite," "The Boyhood of Raleigh," and "The Knight Errant," with some other

works of

less importance.

Miss Lehmann

The

portrait of

one of the pictures upon

is

which his reputation most securely admirable in

its

technical quality and

among

observation of character; and others

"The Boyhood

"The Knight

rests,

of Raleigh,"

its

the

and

Errant," are worthiest of at-

tention because they are treated with great distinction,

interest

and have

in large

which always

results

measure that from judici-

ous interpretation of a well-selected subject.

"The Boyhood is

of Raleigh," especially,

to be considered on account of

session

of a

certain

dramatic

its

pos-

sentiment


MILLAIS which might

by an

with

a sense of

in the

less

artist

fitness.

charm and

story with is

have been made theat-

easily

rical

53 endowed

surely

But

it

conviction,

tells

its

and there

action of the figures, and in the

expressions

on the

faces,

just

the

right

degree of

vitality

needed to make clear the

pictorial

motive.

"The Knight Errant"

perhaps, less significant as a piece of

is,

but

invention,

the it

artist's

affords

list

it

has a distinct place of achievements,

in

because

one of the few instances of his

treatment of the nude figure on a large scale.

It

proves plainly enough that his

avoidance of subjects of this class was not

due to any

inability

on his part to succeed

as a flesh painter, for this figure ful

both in colour and handling

;

is

beauti-

it is

more

probable that the classic formality and con-


MILLAIS

54

which public opinion

ventionality

in

this

country requires in the representation of the nude did not appeal to a

decorative

Leighton,

like

stance

—the

presented

modern

in

type,

Moore,

Albert

or

too

painter—of

figure

woman

is

for

Indeed, from the standpoint

nature's facts.

of the

with his

and sincere regard

of actuality

love

man

that

Millais

frankly

and too

men

for

in-

has

re-

unidealised,

too

realistically femi-

nine.

But is

in this disregard of

convention there

a kind of summing up of

his beliefs as

Though he had changed outward aspect of his art he was

an

in

spirit

Raphaelite his

the

artist.

days.

keenness

a

Pre-Raphaelite,

he

remained

to

and a the

natural

to

Pre-

end

He depended more upon of vision

still

him,

of the

and


MILLAIS assiduously

cultivated

may have had

by years of close

upon what powers he

than

observation,

55

of abstract imagining; and

he sought to only a limited extent to set

down upon which chiefly

his

satisfy

canvas those mental images

men who

look upon nature

as a basis for decorative designs.

The mental image with him was a reflection of fact, fied

direct

not an adaptation modi-

and formalised

in

accordance with

re-

cognised rules, not a fancy more or less remotely referable to reality; but he had certainly

an ample equipment of that taste

which enables the painter to discriminate

between the

realities

which are too crude

and obvious to be worth recording, and those which by their inherent beauty claim

a permanent place

He

had, too, the

in

an

judgment

artist's

memory.

to see that the


;

MILLAIS

56

nude, treated as his

satisfy

it

aesthetic

would have to be to conscience,

too plainly stated to

would be

be entirely accept-

able.

He

found a

much more

appropriate

field

for the exercise of his particular capacities

by turning

to

Many

landscape painting.

of his earlier figure compositions had been

how

given backgrounds which showed

well

he could manage the complex details of

masses of tangled vegetation, or the broad

and simple

lines of

a piece of rural scenery

but in 1871 he attempted for the

first

time

in

itself

a landscape which was complete

and

not

merely

incidental

in

a

picture

human interest. This landscape, " Chill October," was at the Academy with his "Yes or No?" "Vicmainly

tory,

O

concerned

Lord,"

"A

with

SomnambuUst," and the


MILLAIS of George

"Portrait

Grote,"

57 and

it

was

welcomed by a host of admirers as a new of his

revelation tainly

tion in

though into

so

much

it

the

It

has cer-

the estima-

is still

held; and

imaginative

that

insight

which accounts

subtleties

in

it

justify

was and

lacks

it

poetic

Turner,

which

qualities

which

versatility.

work

of a

master

for

like

must always claim the respect

of art lovers as a large, dignified, and sincere study of nature in one of her sadder

moods. its

It

is

the reserve of the picture,

reticent realism, that chiefly

memorable,

for

it

is

makes

neither imposing

subject nor striking in effect; but in

broad simplicity there

is

it

in its

something rarely

fascinating.

Other nature studies of the same character followed at brief intervals during the


MILLAIS

58 next

few

years;

they added

to

the

in-

terest of the artist's practice, but they can

scarcely be said to

have equalled

in

im-

portance the portraits and figure subjects

which he completed at career.

this

stage of his

Millais was, of course, far too great

a master to have artistic practice to

failed in

any branch of

which he seriously de-

voted himself, but the very capacities which

made him so successful as a painter human subject prevented him from

of the look-

ing at open-air nature with the necessary

degree of abstraction.

The

acter of a piece of scenery, individual peculiarities,

physical charits details

and

he could record with

absolute certainty, though the elusive subtleties of

atmosphere, and the charming ac-

cidents of illumination, which in the

poetic

mean

so

much

rendering of landscape,

he


PLATE VII.-OPHELIA (Tate GaUery)

Realism

more searching and more significant than that which and attained in this small canvas would hardly

Millais sought for

come within the bounds of possibility. But the picture is much more than a simple study of facts it has an exquisite charm of poetic feeling, and it is conceived with a full measure of the tenderness needed in a representation of the most pathetic of eill Shakespeare's heroines. Such a work has a place, definite and indisputable, among the classics of art, and counts as one of the chief masterpieces of the ;

British School.





MILLAIS dwelt upon hardly at

all.

6i

In

many

of his

landscapes the breadth and dignity, the accurate relation of part to part, the fascinating simplicity of manner, which are

among

the greater merits of "Chill October," can

be praised without reservation or hesitation; but the touch unreality,

painter real

by which the inspired landscape

seems to suggest more

spirit

tempted

of fantasy, of actual

;

of nature,

and never,

it

truly the

he hardly ever

may

fairly

be

at-

said,

with complete success.

The

years over which his activity as an

exponent of pure landscape extended

are,

however, memorable because they saw the production of some of the most triumphant

achievements of his maturer

two landscapes, and "Flowing

life.

With

his

"Flowing to the Sea,"

to the River," he exhibited


MILLAIS

62

"Hearts are Trumps," a por-

1872 his

in

group which has become a modern

trait

classic

;

and

the

trait,

in 1873

three-quarter

But

Bischoffsheim."

his

all

it

length

was

of "Mrs.

in 1874 that

he

many ways the greatest paintings, "The North-West

showed what of

another wonderful por-

is in

Passage," a work which,

if

he had done

nothing else of moment, would suffice to place

him

painters of the old man,

who

picture, is is

much

among the master world. The head of the

securely

is

the central figure in the

entirely magnificent,

and there

besides in this canvas which would

have been beyond the reach of any one but

an

artist of

was

almost abnormal power.

followed

in

1875

by

his

"Miss Eveleen Tennant," and the

"Yeoman

This

portrait in

of

1877 by

of the Guard," which runs


MILLAIS "The

63

North-West Passage" close in the

race for supremacy.

At

this time, indeed, his productiveness

was extraordinary; traits,

level

men

and

in all of

por-

pictures,

and landscapes appeared

succession,

a

subject

rapid

in

them he kept

of masterly practice

to

which other

reach only occasionally and at rare in-

tervals.

Between 1873 and 1879 he painted

eight landscapes,

all

important in scale and

interesting in treatment, but after 1879 he

produced no

more

when he began a apparently

too

nearly

for

fresh

busy

figure subjects to give

ten

portraits

much time

of-door work, and to satisfy the

made upon him by sitters

hardest.

he

must have

He was

series.

with

art

had

years,

to out-

demands

collectors

to

and

work

and his

Yet popularity did not make him


MILLAIS

64 and

careless,

neither

nor his

of outlook

freshness

his

work diminished

hard

his

freedom of expression.

Conscientiousness

was always one of

as a craftsman

and the knowledge that

virtues,

his

he had

a host of admirers ready to accept almost he would

anything

not the

tainly

give

effect

them had

cer-

of inducing him

to

lower his standard. In the long

of his paintings, which

list

belong to the period beginning in 1879 ^^^ several

stand

—for

example,

ending

in

special

prominence

traits of

Hon.

W.

1888,

out

with

his por-

"Mrs. Jopling," and "The Right E.

Gladstone,"

"Cherry Ripe,"

and "The Princess Elizabeth,"

all

"The Right Hon. John Bright"

in 1879,

in

1880,

"Cardinal Newman," "Alfred, Lord Tennyson,"

"Sir

Henry

Thompson,"

"Cinder-


MILLAIS ella,"

and "Caller

65

Herrin'," in

"J. C.

1881,

Hook, R.A.," and "The Captive,"

in

1882,

"The Marquess of Salisbury" in 1883, "The Ruling Passion," and another por"Bubbles"

trait

of Gladstone,

1886,

and "The Marquess of Hartington*'

in 1887.

Some

in

1885,

of these were

shown

Academy, but he was producing

in

at the

far

more

year by year than could be exhibited there, so he sent

many important works

to the

Grosvenor Gallery, and most of his subject pictures to the galleries of the dealers

whom

they were commissioned.

After in

by

1888

his effort;

Academy

only

there in

was some

relaxation

that year he had at the

one

picture,

a landscape,

"Murthly Moss," and only one

portrait in

each of the years 1889 and 1890, though he showed several works

in other galleries.

E


MILLAIS

66

In 1892 his landscapes " Halcyon Weather,"

and " Blow, Blow, thou Winter Wind," were

Academy, but

the

at

worked no more

after that

out-of-doors.

year he

Of the can-

vases painted during the last three or four years are

of

his

his

the

life,

portrait

most

memorable

"John Hare"

of

"A

(1893),

"Speak! Speak!"

(1895),

runner"

of which were at the

all

(1896),

and

Fore-

Academy, and "Time the Reaper" which

was

at the

New

Gallery in 1895.

"Speak!

Speak!" was purchased by the Chantrey

Fund

trustees,

and

is

now

in the National

Gallery of British Art with the other ad-

mirably chosen examples of his art which

were given to the nation by Sir Henry Tate.

The crowning honour to

him

in

February

of his

1896,

life

came

when he was


MILLAIS

67 Academy

elected President of the Royal

succession

Lord Leighton

to

—an

in

honour

which was particularly appropriate not only because of his eminence as an also because he

artist,

had been intimately con-

nected for nearly sixty years with the stitution

over which he

to preside. in his

1895,

To

in-

called

he referred

speech at the Academy banquet in at

which he took the chair

whose

him from occupying

this

was then

this connection

place of Leighton

tion.

but

his

The words which occasion

expressed

illness

in

the

prevented

accustomed posiMillais

used on

generously

and

affectionately his sense of obligation to the

Academy by which he had been his boyhood,

trained in

and from which he had

re-

ceived encouragement and support at the

most

critical

period of his career, and de-


MILLAIS

68 with

Glared

characteristic

he owed to

it

frankness

that

a debt of gratitude which

he never could repay.

To

those, however,

who know how

loyal

he was to the institution that he loved so well

it

indeed,

more

would seem that the debt was, fully

paid.

Few men have done

to uphold the repute of the

Academy,

few have by the brilliancy of their powers

and

more

their

charm of personality done

credit.

President

That Leighton was the

can

be

readily

Millais, as his successor,

admitted,

it

ideal

but

would have carried

on a great tradition with dignity and sympathy and with no diminution of his predecessor's generous tolerance and earnest

sense of artistic responsibility.

He would

have kept the Academy on broad

and by

his impatience of

empty

lines,

formalities


PLATE VIII.-THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE (Tate Gallery)

Even

if

the "North- West Passage" were not the masterly piece

of painting that it

it is, it

would

still

be a picture of importance because

appeals so vividly to the national spirit of adventure.

Arctic explorer, no longer able to satisfy his

still

The

old

strenuous inclinations,

which is being read to him by his daughter, and yearns once more to battle with the hardships which must be faced by the traveller in the frozen north. The old man's head, one of the finest technical achievements in modern art, was painted from Trelawny, the friend of Byron, and Shelley. listens to the record of his past activities





MILLAIS he would have prevented touch

with

71 from losing

it

movements

the

modern

in

art.

But, unfortunately, he

was destined

to

hold his honourable office for but a brief time.

Even

death he

Leighton's

before

had been suffering from a throat trouble which not long

was pronounced

after

to be

cancer; and in the months that followed

on

immediately

made

the

election

his

Not long

rapid progress.

disease after the

opening of the 1896 Academy Exhibition his

condition

immediately

became so

fatal result

serious

that an

was expected

;

but

by an operation he obtained some temporary relief and his

few weeks. brief respite;

This,

life

was prolonged

was

however,

he died on August

was buried a week

later

in

St.

for

only 13,

a a

and

Paul's


MILLAIS

72

Cathedral, where

had

he

before

little

more than

followed

months

six

old

his

friend's

body to the grave.

To speak

of his

death

premature

as

would be scarcely a misapplication of the

Although Millais had completed his

word.

was

sixty-seventh year he

young man. there

even

painted

in

physique

the

to him,

slowly,

and the

powers would

many more

years.

The

of great achievement remained

and

his death

for

of his

and buoyant tempera-

inevitable degeneration of his

have not begun

shadow of

To a man

ment age would have come

possibility

a

those last works

under

nearly impending death. splendid

art

perceptible diminution of his

vitality

which he

in

His vigour had not waned, and

was no

artistic

still

it

would be true to say that

robbed us of much which would


MILLAIS

73

have added greatly to the sum total of British art.

Yet we may be grateful to

for allowing

him

his

youth

years

;

it

to develop the promise of

splendour of his maturer

in the

so often the

is

lot

of the preco-

cious genius to die

young with

but half

If

fulfilled.

as

Millais

did

it

fate

to

his mission

death had

come

to

Bonington or Fred

Walker, our loss would

have

been

sad

indeed.

discussing Millais as an artist the

In

part which his personality played in

ing him

what he was must by no means

be overlooked.

Something of the

and the

of his art

way

in

mak-

virility

vitality

was due

to the

which he kept touch with the

life

about him, and interested himself in people

and things. secret

upon

He was no his

own

recluse

ideas,

or

who

fed in

narrowed


MILLAIS

74 his outlook

by hedging himself round with

prejudices and preferences for one special

went

Instead, he

class of artistic material.

out into the world and acquired his impressions of humanity in first

tion

hand, finding

with

human

his

all

much

directions

and at

pleasure in associa-

fellow-men.

To

nature he gave free rein;

own he was

his

a keen sportsman, a lover of children— of

whose ways he had, as he proved of pictures, a perfect

in scores

understanding

a man who was always happy

—^and

in

con-

genial society, and always welcome.

He

lived his

life,

wholesomely,

in fact, largely, genially,

and he was

spoiled

by the prosperity

him

his

in

maturer years

and

much unwhich came to as he was unas

shaken by the opposition which he had to face in that brief period of his youth when,


MILLAIS

75

he used to say himself, he was

as

**so

dreadfully bullied."

That

this brief taste of unpopularity did

him good rather than harm can well be imagined, it

for

tested with

and

his

power

without making him bitter

some

severity his

to fight vigorously for

he believed to be right has always ing

its

the finer

value as a qualities

—and

such a test

of a strong man,

weak one

for self-examination.

require

what

means of develop-

or as a warning to the

need

tenacity

of the

Millais did not

any incentive to self-examination,

knew well enough what he intended to do when he deliberately set up his own conviction against that of the men who practically ruled British art, and he

because he

did not enter upon the fight with any idea of backing out

if

he found

it

was

likely to


MILLAIS

76

But

go against him.

triumphal progress which he

Academy

the

schools,

the wider pubUc

him as

infalUble

the

of

made through discovery that

was not disposed was

kind

the

after

to accept

possibly necessary to

prove to him that successes as a student did not give him, as a matter of course, an

sion.

among the chiefs of his profesHe was taught roughly, and in a

way

that roused both his fighting spirit and

assured place

his pride, that this position

was

to be

won

only by sustained and strenuous effort; and lesson

this

persisted

he

long

never after

forgot.

he

had

effects

Its

become

popular favourite, and they helped,

it

a

can

fairly believed,

to strengthen his char-

acter and to keep

him from that easy con-

be

tentment with his own works which first

step

towards

degeneration.

is

He

the did


MILLAIS

77

not degenerate after he had secured what

he had been striving silenced his critics,

for;

although he had

and had won them over

to his side, he continued to sit in severest

judgment upon

himself,

exacted from his

own

they could give him.

and to the

last

he

capacities the utmost


The

plates are printed

The l/l2

by Bemrose &* Sons, Ltd., Derby and London

text at the

Balcantyne Pkuss, Edinburgh 3





Date

V^n

P


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r^

\^ ^/

'i^'?

THE ONTARIO CrtUBCa OF ^KT,

an<»n).


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