Arthur Hughes - April Love - Google Art Project

Arthur Hughes (27 January 1832 – 22 December 1915) was an English painter and illustrator associated with the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...

Biography

Hughes was born in London. In 1846 he entered the art school at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ( ...

, his first master being Alfred Stevens, and later entered the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...

schools. It was here, after reading a copy of ''The Germ'', that he met

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

, Holman Hunt, and

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

, although he never became an official member of the

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jame ...

group of painters. His first picture, ''Musidora'', was hung at the Royal Academy when he was only 17, and thenceforth he contributed almost annually not only to the Royal Academy but later also to the

Grosvenor Grosvenor may refer to: People * Grosvenor (surname) * Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster * Grosvenor Francis (1873–1944), Australian politician * Grosvenor Hodgkinson (1818–1881), English lawyer and politician Places, buildings and ...

and New Gallery exhibitions. After having his painting ''Ophelia'' hung near Millais' version of the same name, they became friends and Hughes served as the model for the male figure in '' The Proscribed Royalist''. In 1855 Hughes married Tryphena Foord, his model for '' April Love''. They had five children of whom one,

Arthur Foord Hughes Arthur Foord Hughes (1856 – 20 July 1934) was an English genre and landscape artist. Hughes was born in Pimlico, London, England, the son of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Arthur Hughes, and his wife and former model, Tryphena Foord. He was the c ...

, also became a painter. Hughes died in Kew Green, London in 1915, leaving about 700 known paintings and drawings, along with over 750 book illustrations. Following the death of Tryphena Hughes in 1921, their daughter Emily had to move to a smaller house. There was, therefore, a shortage of space. As a result, she had her father's remaining preparatory sketches, and all his private papers and correspondence, destroyed. He was the uncle of Edward Robert Hughes. Hughes is buried in Richmond Cemetery.

Works

His best-known paintings are '' April Love'' and ''

The Long Engagement ''The Long Engagement'' is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Arthur Hughes which was created between 1854 and 1859. The painting was originally titled ''Orlando''. The painting depicts a curate and his fiancée An engagement or betr ...

'', both of which depict troubled couples contemplating the transience of love and beauty. They were inspired by

's earlier "couple" paintings but place far greater emphasis on the pathos of human inability to maintain the freshness of youthful feeling in comparison to the regenerative power of nature. Like Millais, Hughes also painted ''

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...

'' (which is housed at

Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art gallery, art museum located in the Old West End District (Toledo, Ohio), Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it ...

) and illustrated Keats's poem '' The Eve of St. Agnes''. Hughes's version of the latter is in the form of a secular

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divide ...

, a technique he repeated for scenes from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has ...

''. His works are noted for their magical, glowing colouring and delicate draughtsmanship. The oil portrait ''Springtide'', first exhibited in Dublin in 1855, features his wife Tryphena.

Illustrations

Although most of Hughes' later paintings are not well regarded, it is considered that the black and white drawings of his later career were some of his best. He illustrated several books, including ''Tom Brown’s Schooldays'' (1869), George Macdonald's '' At the Back of the North Wind (''1871) and '' The Princess and the Goblin'' (1872) and

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Brit ...

’s ''Sing Song'' (1872) and ''Speaking Likenesses'' (1874). He also produced numerous illustrations for Norman MacLeod's monthly magazine, ''Good Words''. File:Arthur Hughes (1832-1915) - The King's Orchard - 1509 - Fitzwilliam Museum.jpg, ''The King's Orchard'' File:Arthur Hughes (1832-1915) - Musidora Bathing - 1935P39 - Birmingham Museums Trust.jpg, ''Musidora Bathing'' File:Arthur Hughes (1832-1915) - That was a Piedmontese ... - N05244 - National Gallery.jpg, ''That was a Piedmontese ...'' File:V0 large (2).jpg, ''Rosalind in As You Like It'' File:Arthur Hughes - The Potter's Courtship.jpg, ''The Potter's Courtship'' File:Arthur Hughes (1832-1915) - Margaret Lushington (d.1906), Mrs Stephen Langton Massingberd - 637629 - National Trust.jpg, ''Margaret Lushington, Mrs Stephen Langton Massingberd''

Notes

External links

Hughes: Pre-Raphaelite Painter & Book Illustrator
(archive copy at ''archive.org'')
Arthur Hughes
at PreRaphaelites.org, Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery * *
Hughes at ArtMagick.com
(archived 2006-10-23)
Arthur Hughes
at Invaluable.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Arthur 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters English illustrators Pre-Raphaelite painters 1832 births 1915 deaths Artists' Rifles soldiers Burials at Richmond Cemetery 19th-century English male artists Pre-Raphaelite illustrators 20th-century English male artists

Biography

Works

Illustrations

See also

Notes

External links