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visited BMAG on 25 November 2004, to have a look at their exhibition:
John Everett Millais
Illustrator and Narrator
The exhibition is in Gallery 11, and the works on show are mainly from the permanent collection of the gallery. This is not an extensive exhibition of large pictures. What it does, however, is to show the draughtsmanship of a great artist. Like many other artists of the time, Millais illustrated poetry and novels by leading writers of the day. Many of the drawings date from the 1850s and 60s, very early in the painter's career. Amongst works on show are many illustrations of the poetry of Tennyson. They range from early preparatory works, where the artist was visualizing them on paper, to highly finished immaculate drawings, ready to be sent to the engraver. There are also some interesting works in other forms, for instance The Finding of Moses, in watercolour and bodycolour. I particularly enjoyed an illustration in Poets of The Nineteenth Century, to Coleridge's poem "Love". Were I not a crusty old man, I would say that this is a beautiful, romantic, and touching drawing. Another beautiful piece of work was The Young Mother showing a mother nursing her baby. This drawing dates from 1856/7, and was made at Annat Lodge, near Perth, the home of Effie Millais's parents. In fact, I think that the likeness says that the woman is Effie, and the date is right for the infant to be their first child Everett, who ultimately succeeded his father as the second Baronet, though unfortunately died not long after him. This small and low key exhibition shows many drawings from the permanent collection of BMAG which are unlikely to see the light of day again for many years, due to limitations of space, and the pressing need to conserve delicate drawings and watercolours on paper.
In the adjacent gallery a number of other works by Millais are on show, including Parable of The Tares. Information next to the picture tells us that the artist had intended this to be his Royal Academy Diploma Work, but that it was rejected due to its distasteful subject. I must say at this point that the man sowing the tares is of a spectacularly evil appearance. The famous picture The Widow's Mite is also on display. Adjacent to these pictures is a pencil, charcoal, and chalk cartoon for The Rescue, which was sold directly to the new Melbourne Gallery in Australia in the mid nineteenth century.
Visitors to my site will know that I have not always been a great admirer of the curatorial staff of BMAG. It is rather nice to be able to say good things for a change, and this small exhibition is well worth a visit.
It is also a pleasure to report that Dreamers, one of Albert Moore's greatest pictures, is being shown with more sensitivity, and that the vividly coloured pictures which so badly detracted from its appearance are now further from it.
Near the entrance to the Millais exhibition the brilliant portrait of Burne-Jones by G. F. Watts is on display. I last saw this great picture at the entrance to the Burne-Jones Centenary Exhibition in 1998, and to see it again is a timely reminder, in the year of the centenary of Watt's death, of what an excellent portrait painter he was. It shows the fascinating character of the sitter in depth, in a way which could never have been achieved by a photograph.
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Acknowledgements:
Our thanks go to Paul Ripley for kindly allowing us to reproduce this article from his website, Victorian Art in Britain.
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