Arthur Hughes (artist)
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
painter and illustrator associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
. He is the uncle of the English painter Edward Robert Hughes
Edward Robert Hughes
Edward Robert Hughes was an English painter who worked in a style influenced by Pre-Raphaelitism and Aestheticism. Some of his best known works are Midsummer Eve and Night With Her Train of Stars. Hughes was the nephew of Arthur Hughes. He often used watercolour/gouache...
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Biography
Hughes was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His best-known paintings are April Love
April Love (Hughes painting)
April Love is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Arthur Hughes which was created between 1855 and 1856. It was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1856....
and The Long Engagement
The Long Engagement
The Long Engagement is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Arthur Hughes which was created between 1854 and 1859. The painting was originally titled "Orlando".The painting depicts a curate and his fiancée in a woodland setting....
, both of which depict troubled couples contemplating the transience of love and beauty. They were inspired by John Everett Millais
John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:...
's earlier "couple" paintings but place far greater emphasis on the pathos of human inability to maintain the freshness of youthful feeling in comparison to the regenerative power of nature.
Like Millais, Hughes also painted an Ophelia
Ophelia
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
and illustrated Keats's poem The Eve of St. Agnes
The Eve of St. Agnes
"The Eve of St. Agnes" is a long poem by John Keats, written in 1819 and published in 1820. It is widely considered to be amongst his finest poems and was influential in 19th century literature. The poem is in Spenserian stanzas....
. Hughes's version of the latter is in the form of a secular triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
, a technique he repeated for scenes from Shakespeare's As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
.
His works are noted for their magical, glowing colouring and delicate draughtsmanship.
Hughes was in close contact with the writer George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
and illustrated some of his books as well as producing numerous illustrations for Norman MacLeod's monthly magazine, Good Words.
Hughes died in Kew Green, London, leaving about 700 known paintings and drawings, along with over 750 book illustrations.
See also
- List of Pre-Raphaelite paintings - includes catalogue of Arthur Hughes' work with links to individual painting's articles.
- List of British painters
External links
- Website devoted to Hughes and his works
- Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery's Online Pre-Raphaelite Resource
- Hughes's entry at ArtMagick.com
- Bob Speel's Hughes page
- ArtFact's Hughes page
- The Pre-Raph Pack Discover more about the artists, the techniques they used and a timeline spanning 100 years.