Mariana (Millais)
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''Mariana'' is an 1851
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
-on-
panel Panel may refer to: Arts and media Visual arts * Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image *Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art ...
painting by
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 ...
. The image depicts the solitary Mariana from
William 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 ''
Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...
'', as retold in
Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
's 1830 poem "
Mariana Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...
". The painting is regarded as an example of Millais's "precision, attention to detail, and stellar ability as a colorist".King, Sally.
"Aweary" and Waiting: John Everett Millais's Mariana
. English 156 / History of Art 152, Brown University, 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
It has been held by
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
since 1999.


Background

In Shakespeare's ''
Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...
'', written between 1601 and 1606, Mariana was a woman who was about to be married, but she was rejected by her fiancé Angelo when her dowry was lost in the shipwreck that also killed her brother. She retreated to a solitary existence in a moated house. Five years later, Angelo was tricked into consummating their betrothal. Tennyson retold the tale in his 1830 poem "
Mariana Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...
", and returned to it in his 1832 poem "Mariana in the South". Millais was a founding member of 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 ...
, a group of English artists who came together in 1848 with the goal of renewing British painting. They found in the art of the early Italian Renaissance—before
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
—a sincerity of purpose and clarity of form that they sought to emulate. The Pre-Raphaelites frequently used allegorical images to create a narrative to teach a moral virtue or virtues, and sometimes used contemporary literature as inspiration for their paintings, which often include numerous details that allow the viewer to "read" the painting. Millais used Tennyson's poetry to create a narrative for his painting of ''Mariana'' and he wanted to allow the viewer familiar with Tennyson's poetry to read the entire poem through the painting. It was first exhibited at 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 ...
in 1851 – the year after Tennyson was appointed as
Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...
– with a display caption that contained lines 9 to 12 from Tennyson's poem "Mariana" (1830):     She only said, 'My life is dreary,       He cometh not,' she said;     She said, 'I am aweary, aweary,'       I would that I were dead!' Millais's painting may have been painted as a companion piece to
William 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 symbolism. ...
's 1850 painting '' Claudio and Isabella'', which also depicts a scene from ''Measure for Measure''. The composition and details of the painting were influenced by Van Eyck's 1434 painting ''
The Arnolfini Marriage ''The Arnolfini Portrait'' (or ''The Arnolfini Wedding'', ''The Arnolfini Marriage'', the ''Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife'', or other titles) is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It f ...
''.


Description

The painting depicts a woman in a long blue dress, standing up from the embroidery laid out before her to stretch her back. Her upholstered stool and the table are set before a Gothic window with stained glass, through which can be seen a garden with leaves are turning from green to autumnal brown. Some leaves have fallen on the embroidery, and more onto the bare wooden floorboards beside a small mouse. In the background, a small triptych, a silver casket and candles have been set out as a devotional altar on a piece of furniture covered with white cloth beside the curtain of a bed. The work is painted on a
mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
panel, primed with a white ground, and measures . It may have been painted
wet-on-wet Wet-on-wet, or ''alla prima'' (Italian, meaning ''at first attempt''), direct painting or au premier coup, is a painting technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to previously administered layers of wet paint. Used mostly in oil paint ...
on a second ground, with graphite
underdrawing Underdrawing is a preparatory drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These ...
. The paint is thinly applied in some areas to enhance the reflective effect of the white ground, but thickly applied in others. The woman's blue dress is painted with two blue pigments,
Prussian blue Prussian blue (also known as Berlin blue, Brandenburg blue or, in painting, Parisian or Paris blue) is a dark blue pigment produced by oxidation of ferrous ferrocyanide salts. It has the chemical formula Fe CN)">Cyanide.html" ;"title="e(Cyani ...
and
ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afgh ...
. The painting is packed with details that help the viewer to read the narrative of the work from Tennyson's poetry. The autumn leaves indicate a story about waiting and the passage of time. The woman's arched back makes it seem like she has been sitting too long and she must stand up to stretch before she sits back at her work, but her posture also emphasises her bust and hips. The roll of completed embroidery on the table gives the viewer a clue as to how long Mariana has been working on it. The altar in the background may be a reference to Mariana's fervent prayers to the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
in "Mariana in the South". The stained glass in the window shows an
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
scene, with the
Angel Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
and the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, based on a window at the east end of the
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
of
Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
, and also an invented coat of arms with a
snowdrop ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single sm ...
and the Latin motto "In coelo quies" ("In Heaven there is rest"), possibly a reference to the feast of
St Agnes' Eve Agnes of Rome () is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. St. Agnes is one of several virgin martyrs comm ...
and John Keats'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 ...
''. Many of the details in the painting relate directly to Tennyson's poetry. For example, the little mouse in the bottom right corner is a detail directly from the poem: "the mouse behind the mouldering wainscots shriek'd or from the crevice peer'd about". An anecdote reports that the mouse was drawn from life – or rather death, as it was killed by Millais after it scurried across the floor and hid behind some furniture so he could immortalise it. Together, Millais's painting and Tennyson's poem create an intriguing storyline for the reader to follow. However, Millais's painting departs from Tennyson's narrative in some respects. The Mariana depicted by Millais is placed in a scene filled with vibrant colours; she is not the forlorn woman described by Tennyson, unwilling to live an independent life, confined to a dilapidated retreat, with a " mouldering wainscots". In turn, Millais's painting was an inspiration for
Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...
's 1853 novel, ''
Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...
''. Tennyson's Mariana and Gaskell's main character Ruth are both sensitive to the sounds around them and are constantly looking out of their window in image that represents their imprisonment within their homes. The image of Mariana used by Tennyson and the later works are equally of a woman who is weary.


Reception

The painting was first exhibited in 1851, the year after Millais's painting ''
Christ In The House Of His Parents ''Christ in the House of His Parents'' (1849–50) is a painting by John Everett Millais depicting the Holy Family in Saint Joseph's carpentry workshop. The painting was extremely controversial when first exhibited, prompting many negative rev ...
'' had been heavily criticised by art critics and the public. In 1851, Ruskin wrote in defence of the PRB that it "lays in our England the foundations of a school of art nobler than the world has seen for 300 years". He wrote on 9 May that " there is not a single study of drapery in the whole Academy, be it in large works or small, which for perfect truth, power, and finish, could be compared for an instant with … with the white draperies on the table in Mr. Millais' "Mariana" … And further: that as studies both of drapery and of every minor detail, there has been nothing in art so earnest or so complete as these pictures since the days of Albert Durer." The painting was accepted in lieu of £4.2m of
inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
payable on the estate of
Roger Makins, 1st Baron Sherfield Roger Mellor Makins, 1st Baron Sherfield, (3 February 1904 – 9 November 1996), was a British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to the United States from 1953 to 1956. Background and early life Makins was the son of Brigadier-General ...
, who died in 1996. It was allocated to the Tate Gallery in 1999, when it was described as "arguably the greatest Pre-Raphaelite painting"Lloyd-Webber outraged at pre-Raphaelite collection's export"
''The Art Newspaper'', Martin Bailey, 1 September 1998 The Makin Collection of Victorian paintings and drawings, which includes works by artists such as Millais, Holman Hunt, Rossetti and Burne-Jones, was inherited by his son Christopher Makins and transferred to his residence in Washington DC. The collection had been begun by Henry Francis Makins (1841–1914), who was a friend of Millais, and enlarged by Roger, his grandson. The
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
holds an 1850 study, in pen and ink on paper.


Notes


References


''Mariana'' 1851
Tate Gallery. * ''Millais: An Exhibition Organized by the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool and the Royal Academy of Arts London'', January–April 1967. London: William Clowes and Sons, 1967.
''Mariana'', John Everett Millais (1829–1896), Tate Britain
ArtUK
Mariana in the Moated Grange
Victoria & Albert Museum
''Mariana'', John Everett Millais, 1851
Google Arts & Culture

The Victorian Web
Sir John Everett Millais, ''Mariana''
Dr. Rebecca Jeffrey Easby, Smarthistory, 9 August 2015
''Mariana'' by John Everett Millais, 1851
British Library
"Millais for Tate: Nation given masterpieces in lieu of tax
The Guardian, 28 August 1999
The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Culture
Cambridge University Press, 2010, , p.203-205
Medievalism: The Middle Ages in Modern England
Michael Alexander, Yale University Press, 2007, , p.160-161

The Victorian Web {{DEFAULTSORT:Mariana 1851 paintings British art Collection of the Tate galleries Paintings by John Everett Millais Female Shakespearean characters Works based on Measure for Measure Works based on literary characters Paintings based on works by William Shakespeare Paintings based on works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Mice and rats in art