Love & Desire – Truth to Nature

A rare mother and daughter’s day. I am meeting mum and Michelle here at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA). I arrive early though and before they arrive too, I park the car and wander through the sculpture garden.

We are here to see the Pre Raphaelites exhibition – Love & Desire. The Pre Raphaelites Brotherhood (PRB) rejected the style of the Renaissance masters and ‘introduced extreme detail and raw truthfulness to religious, literary and historical stories and symbols which allowed the viewer to decode deeper messages. The art of the Pre Raphaelites expressed the rapid change, hopes and anxieties of a society in the process of modernization, and its impact on the world today’. Although controversial in their technique and bohemian lifestyles they nevertheless attracted followers and became internationally famous.

Truth To Nature

Until this time, paintings had been traditionally an indoor affair and although sketches and light may have been studied outside, generally the painting and finalization of artwork was confined to inside. The Pre Raphaelites followed the principle of ‘truth to nature’ and were the first group of artists to exhibit paintings made outdoors. The idea was to convey art that was both detailed and accurate.

This truth was supported by substance. No longer were the subjects of paintings confined by geography. Trains pioneered a new and effective mode of transport that gave rise to the exploration of inspiration further afield. The traditional subjects of science, portraits and religion were depicted in new and different ways.

The values of faith, loyalty and devotion are given a twist as this white doe is depicted visiting a grave at Bolton Abbey. Also known as The Fate of the Nortons the painting is inspired by the William Wordsworth poem of the same name (The White Doe of Rylstone). Emily Norton, the last survivor of the family befriends the white doe which later searches for her at the ruins of Bolton Abbey, a 12th Century Augustinian Monastery.

“—Comes gliding in with lovely gleam,
Comes gliding in serene and slow,
Soft and silent as a dream,
A solitary Doe!” – extract from The White Doe of Rylstone, William Wordsworth

Although not one of the original seven that made up the PRB movement, John Brett was associated with the movement due to the detail in his work and the fact that it expresses the PRB principle of ‘truth to nature’.

His painting captures the divine effects of dappled sunlight on the water. The colors used give the ocean a luminous texture, reflecting the pink of the clouds and the subtleties of the changing light. The tiny sailboats included “highlights the theme of man versus nature, and the vast emptiness of the sea as a space for contemplation”.

This new style changed the face of painting at a time when photography was in its infancy. In many ways, their narrative borrows from photography in terms of the attention to detail and visual portrayal. Likewise the photographic styles of the time borrowed mannerisms and attributes captured in these paintings.

It may not be as romantic as the Romantics, as restrained as the Renaissance style or as luminous as the Impressionists but the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood certainly produced a body of work that is in essence bold, vivid, lustrous, desperate and sensual all at once. Love and desire indeed.

Would I Return?

Yes. Although the exhibition runs 14 December 2018 – 28 April 2019 at the National Gallery of Australia. I’m not sure I’ll get another chance.

Note that some of the explanations in this post references those found at the NGA exhibition.