Thread by @RobertBohan

Thread: John Everett Millais (1829-96) was a co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) & a critically successful & important artist who descended into popular commercial work & sentimentality in later life. At his best he was superb. Ophelia (detail, 1851)

Born in Southampton he was a child prodigy attending the RA Schools aged 11 (1840). There he met Holman Hunt & Rossetti & they formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Wrestlers (1840-1), Drawing from the Antique (1842) & Nude (1847)

Here’s an overview of my original ink drawings available to purchase in my Etsy shop. As part of my Affordable Art Project they are reduced from my dealer’s price of €700 to just €149. Take a look!

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Here’s his self-portrait aged 17. His early works are typical of mid-century English art. They barely foretell his greatness. Self-Portrait (1847), Cymon & Iphigenia (1848), Death of Romeo & Juliet (1848)

His Christ in the House of His Parents (1849-50) was his early masterpiece & one of English art’s great works. It is recognised as one of the greatest PRB works & is characterised by an authentic emotional clarity. Ferdinand lured by Ariel (1849) & Lorenzo & Isabella (1849)

His Bridesmaid is a strikingly modern image for the time & radiates intense emotion. Mariana (1851), The Bridesmaid (1851) & the Return of the Dove to the Ark (1851). His Dove is one of my favourite images for its daring simplicity & is in .@TheHughLane

Millais’ Ophelia (1851-2) is one of the landmarks of Victorian art. It’s luxuriant foliage, psychological intensity & atmosphere represents the apogee of the PRB style (Finished work, watercolour & drawing study) & the Woodman’s Daughter (1851)

As his fame increased he sought to Court popularity. In doing so he fell out with Ruskin who had advocated for the PRB. He was made an associate RA in 1853. The Order of Release (1853), John Ruskin (1854) & the Rescue (1855) & A Highland Lassie (1854)

The late 1850s saw him transition from great art to commercially popular sentimentality. Wandering Thoughts (1855), Autumn Leaves (1856), The Blind Girl (1856) & A Dream of the Past (1857)

In 1855 he married Effie, his champion’s (Ruskin) divorced wife. Post-marriage & with a large family to support he abandoned the intense style of his early work. Alice Gray (1857), The Escape of a Heretic (1857), Apple Blossoms (1859) & The Black Brunswicker (1860)

By the 1860s he was openly chasing popular approval with sentimental works. Such work is far distant from the authentic emotion of his earlier paintings. My First Sermon (1863), Leisure Hours (1864), My Second Sermon (1864) & Joan of Arc (1865)

His Boyhood of Raleigh is a return to the ideas of the PRB yet lacks the sincerity of his younger years. Sleeping (1865), A Flood (1870), The Boyhood of Raleigh (1870) & the Knight Errant (1870)

As his fame grew he turned towards portraits & producing typical Victorian works. That an artist of his calibre would do that is upsetting for his loss to great art. The Martyr of the Solway (1871), Charles Liddel (1873), Winter Fuel (1873) & Portrait of Eveline Lees (1875)

From 1870-92 he composed a number of landscapes. The Sound of Many Waters (1876), Chill October (1879), Dew-Drenched Furze (1889-90) & Glen Birnam (1891). These landscapes may have been his way of returning to a more honest & sincere form of art.

By the late 1880s he had reached the nadir of his output. Cherry Ripe is both extremely popular & an appalling misuse of his astonishing gifts. The Convalescent (1875), The Twins (1876), Cherry Ripe (1879) & Cinderella (1881)

The lure of money had led to him abandoning great art & chasing popularity. Works such as Bubbles would be licensed by him to corporations for advertising. Pomona (1882), Self-Portrait (1883), Lilacs (1885) & Bubbles (1886). Today these inauthentic images are startlingly popular

In 1885 he was given a baronetcy & in 1896 he was elected president of the RA. The Nest (1887), Sweet Emma Morland (1892), John Manners (1896) & A Disciple (1895). The works he produced at this time might best be described as High Church Victorianism

For an artist of genius he did not paint for himself but focused on sentimentality for his audience. If he had chosen otherwise he might have continued to create masterpieces. Letter (1882), Xmas Eve (1887), Afternoon Tea (1889) & Ariel (1849).

Here’s more on my artwork for sale. By investing in my work you are allowing me to continue to create, for which I am very grateful. Thank you!

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