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, James ...

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 ("O ...

, 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 pur ...

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 ...

Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolis ...

, 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, James ...

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 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, also became a painter. Hughes died in

Kew Green Kew Green is a large open space in Kew in west London. Owned by the Crown Estate, it is leased to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is roughly triangular in shape, and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to abo ...

, 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 Edward Robert Hughes (5 November 1851 – 23 April 1914) was a British painter, who primarily worked in watercolours, but also produced a number of oil paintings. He was influenced by his uncle and artist, Arthur Hughes who was associated ...

. Hughes is buried in

Richmond Cemetery Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The cemetery opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expande ...

Works

His best-known paintings are '' April Love'' and '' The Long Engagement'', 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 museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...

) and illustrated

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculos ...

's poem ''

The Eve of St. Agnes ''The Eve of St. Agnes'' is a Romantic narrative poem of 42 Spenserian stanzas set in the Middle Ages. It was written by John Keats in 1819 and published in 1820. The poem was considered by many of Keats's contemporaries and the succeeding ...

''. Hughes's version of the latter is in the form of a secular

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, 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) t ...

, 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 nation ...

'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 b ...

''. 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 ''At the Back of the North Wind'' is a children's book written by Scottish author George MacDonald. It was serialized in the children's magazine ''Good Words for the Young'' beginning in 1868 and was published in book form in 1871. It is a fant ...

(''1871) and ''

The Princess and the Goblin ''The Princess and the Goblin'' is a children's fantasy novel by George MacDonald. It was published in 1872 by Strahan & Co., with black-and-white illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Strahan had published the story and illustrations as a serial in ...

'' (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 Bri ...

’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