Hope (painting)
Encyclopedia
Hope is a Symbolist
oil painting
by George Frederic Watts
, two versions of which were completed in 1886. The painting was intended to form part of a series of allegorical
paintings by Watts entitled the "House of Life".
shows a female allegorical figure of Hope
. Hope is traditionally identifiable through the attribute of an anchor, but Watts took a more original approach. In his painting, she is depicted sitting on a globe, blindfolded, clutching a wooden lyre
with only one string left intact. She sits in a hunched position, with her head leaning towards the instrument, perhaps so she can hear the faint music she can make with the sole remaining string. According to Watts, "Hope need not mean expectancy. It suggests here rather the music which can come from the remaining chord". The desolate atmosphere is emphasised by Watts's soft brushwork, creating a misty, ethereal scene, in tones of green, brown and grey. Watts's melancholy depiction of hope was criticised, and G. K. Chesterton
suggested that a better title would be Despair.
Two versions were painted by Watts in 1886, shortly after the death of Watts's adopted daughter Blanche. The first version - now held in a private collection - was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery
in 1886 and received so successfully that he painted a second copy. Watts himself preferred the second, softer, version. It omits the star - a symbol of optimism - that appears at the top of the first version. It was exhibited at the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and at the Exposition Universelle
in Paris
in 1889. Watts refused an offer of 2000 guineas
for the second version in 1888, and presented it to the Tate in 1897. The version held by the Tate measures 142.2 centimetres (56 in) by 111.8 centimetres (44 in).
Watts may have been inspired by the pose of the siren in Dante Gabriel Rossetti
's 1877 painting, A Sea Spell, or the sleeping women in Albert Joseph Moore
's 1882 painting Dreamers. Watts may have taken inspiration for the blindfold from the allegorical figure of Fortune in Edward Burne-Jones
's 1871 painting The Wheel of Fortune, which Watts owned. The painting was displayed at the 1897 Manchester Jubilee Exhibition, alongside other works by Watts including Love and Death, The Court of Death, Psyche, and Mount Ararat.
and Lejaren à Hiller, featuring Mary Astor
as Hope, and an advertisement by IBM
in the 1920s. It has been suggested as an influence on Picasso's early Blue Period paintings, especially the hunched musician in The Old Guitarist
. Nelson Mandela
reportedly had a print of the painting on the wall of his prison cell on Robben Island
. After Egypt was defeated by Israel during the Six-Day War
the Egyptian government issued copies of it to its troops.
The painting was the subject of a lecture by Dr Frederick G. Sampson in Richmond, Virginia
, in the late 1980s, who described it as a study in contradictions. The lecture was attended by Jeremiah Wright
and inspired him to give a sermon in 1990 on the subject of Hope - "with her clothes in rags, her body scarred and bruised and bleeding, her harp all but destroyed and with only one string left, she had the audacity to make music and praise God ... To take the one string you have left and to have the audacity to hope ... that's the real word God will have us hear from this passage and from Watt's painting." Having attended the sermon, Barack Obama
later adopted the phrase "audacity of hope" as the title for his 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address
, and as the title of his second book
.
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
by George Frederic Watts
George Frederic Watts
George Frederic Watts, OM was a popular English Victorian painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as Hope and Love and Life...
, two versions of which were completed in 1886. The painting was intended to form part of a series of allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
paintings by Watts entitled the "House of Life".
Description
The painting by George Frederic WattsGeorge Frederic Watts
George Frederic Watts, OM was a popular English Victorian painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as Hope and Love and Life...
shows a female allegorical figure of Hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
. Hope is traditionally identifiable through the attribute of an anchor, but Watts took a more original approach. In his painting, she is depicted sitting on a globe, blindfolded, clutching a wooden lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
with only one string left intact. She sits in a hunched position, with her head leaning towards the instrument, perhaps so she can hear the faint music she can make with the sole remaining string. According to Watts, "Hope need not mean expectancy. It suggests here rather the music which can come from the remaining chord". The desolate atmosphere is emphasised by Watts's soft brushwork, creating a misty, ethereal scene, in tones of green, brown and grey. Watts's melancholy depiction of hope was criticised, and G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
suggested that a better title would be Despair.
Two versions were painted by Watts in 1886, shortly after the death of Watts's adopted daughter Blanche. The first version - now held in a private collection - was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery
Grosvenor Gallery
The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé...
in 1886 and received so successfully that he painted a second copy. Watts himself preferred the second, softer, version. It omits the star - a symbol of optimism - that appears at the top of the first version. It was exhibited at the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and at the Exposition Universelle
Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1889. Watts refused an offer of 2000 guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
for the second version in 1888, and presented it to the Tate in 1897. The version held by the Tate measures 142.2 centimetres (56 in) by 111.8 centimetres (44 in).
Watts may have been inspired by the pose of the siren in Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
's 1877 painting, A Sea Spell, or the sleeping women in Albert Joseph Moore
Albert Joseph Moore
Albert Joseph Moore was an English painter, known for his depictions of langorous female figures set against the luxury and decadence of the classical world....
's 1882 painting Dreamers. Watts may have taken inspiration for the blindfold from the allegorical figure of Fortune in Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...
's 1871 painting The Wheel of Fortune, which Watts owned. The painting was displayed at the 1897 Manchester Jubilee Exhibition, alongside other works by Watts including Love and Death, The Court of Death, Psyche, and Mount Ararat.
Influence on others
Hope inspired a scene from a (1922 film) of the same name by Herbert BlachéHerbert Blaché
Herbert Blaché was a British-born American film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 56 films between 1912 and 1929.Along with his wife, filmmaking pioneer Alice Guy-Blaché, he founded Solax Studios in 1910....
and Lejaren à Hiller, featuring Mary Astor
Mary Astor
Mary Astor was an American actress. Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the silent movies of the early 1920s.She eventually made a successful transition to talkies, but almost...
as Hope, and an advertisement by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
in the 1920s. It has been suggested as an influence on Picasso's early Blue Period paintings, especially the hunched musician in The Old Guitarist
The Old Guitarist
The Old Guitarist is an oil painting by Pablo Picasso created in 1903. It depicts an old, blind, haggard man with threadbare clothing weakly hunched over his guitar, playing in the streets of Barcelona, Spain...
. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
reportedly had a print of the painting on the wall of his prison cell on Robben Island
Robben Island
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 km west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km². It is flat and only a...
. After Egypt was defeated by Israel during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
the Egyptian government issued copies of it to its troops.
The painting was the subject of a lecture by Dr Frederick G. Sampson in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, in the late 1980s, who described it as a study in contradictions. The lecture was attended by Jeremiah Wright
Jeremiah Wright
Jeremiah Alvesta Wright, Jr. is Pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ , a megachurch in Chicago exceeding 6,000 members...
and inspired him to give a sermon in 1990 on the subject of Hope - "with her clothes in rags, her body scarred and bruised and bleeding, her harp all but destroyed and with only one string left, she had the audacity to make music and praise God ... To take the one string you have left and to have the audacity to hope ... that's the real word God will have us hear from this passage and from Watt's painting." Having attended the sermon, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
later adopted the phrase "audacity of hope" as the title for his 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address
2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address
The keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention was given by then Illinois State Senator, United States Senate candidate , and future President Barack Obama on the night of Tuesday, July 27, 2004...
, and as the title of his second book
The Audacity of Hope
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream is the second book written by then-Senator Barack Obama. In the fall of 2006 it became number one on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestsellers lists after Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey. In the book, Obama expounds on...
.
External references
- Hope by G. F. Watts from the Watts GalleryWatts GalleryWatts Gallery is an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey. It is dedicated to the work of Victorian era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts....
- Catalogue entry from the Tate GalleryTate GalleryThe Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
- "Hope" in high resolution with interpretations and video from the Google Art ProjectGoogle Art ProjectGoogle Art Project is an online compilation of high-resolution images of artworks from galleries worldwide, as well as a virtual tour of the galleries in which they are housed...