''The Rescue'' (1855) is a 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 ...

depicting a

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

rescuing three children from a house fire, with their mother receiving them back into her arms. Millais witnessed the death of a fireman in the course of a rescue, and decided to depict the subject. The fire brigade had only recently been transformed from private businesses dedicated to the protection of property to a public institution charged to protect life first. Millais sought to create the correct effects of light and smoke by using a sheet of coloured glass and by burning planks of wood. This emphasis on fleeting effects of colour and light was a new departure in his art. The painting is also notable for its startling transitions of colour, particularly the dramatic effect by which the sleeve of the mother's nightgown changes from slatey blue to pale pink. This led to much critical comment at the time.

Exhibition and reception

Millais regarded ''The Rescue'' as one of his greatest paintings, and chose it as his submission for the Royal Academy's 1855 exhibition. It was well-received by critics, who recognised the subject matter as startlingly modern for Millais.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

considered it "the only great picture exhibited this year; but this is very great. The immortal element is in it to the full." Robyn Cooper argues that some criticism of the painting arose from the fact that it depicted a virile working class man rescuing middle class children, while their father is nowhere to be seen. The mother's opened arms seem to greet this strong new man as much as her children.Robyn Cooper, ''Millais' "The Rescue": A Painting of a Dreadful Interruption of Domestic Peace"'' Art History, vol. IX. no 4, December 1986 pp. 471-86

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External links

''The rescue''
on the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

's website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rescue Paintings by John Everett Millais 1855 paintings Firefighting Paintings in the National Gallery of Victoria Paintings of children

Exhibition and reception

See also

Notes

External links