John Brett was an artist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement (although is not considered to be a Pre-Raphaelite painter himself), mainly notable for his highly detailed landscapes. Brett was born near Reigate on 8 December 1831, the son of an army vet. In 1851 he began lessons in art with James Duffield Harding

James Duffield Harding

James Duffield Harding , English landscape painter, was the son of an artist, and took to the same vocation at an early age, although he had originally been destined for the law...

, a landscape painter. He also studied with Richard Redgrave

Richard Redgrave

Richard Redgrave RA was an English artist.-Early life:Redgrave was born on 30 April 1804 in Pimlico, at 2 Belgrave Terrace, the second son of William Redgrave, and younger brother of Samuel Redgrave. While was employed in his father's manufacturing firm, he visited the British Museum to make...

. In 1853 he entered the Royal Academy schools, but was more interested in the ideas of John Ruskin

John Ruskin

John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...

  and William Holman Hunt

William Holman Hunt

William Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:...

, whom he met through his friend the poet Coventry Patmore

Coventry Patmore

Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore was an English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage.-Youth:...

. Inspired by Hunt's ideal of scientific landscape painting Brett visited Switzerland, where he worked on topographical landscapes and came under the further influence of John William Inchbold

John William Inchbold

John William Inchbold was an English painter born in Leeds, Yorkshire and influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite style. He was the son of a Yorkshire newspaper owner, Thomas Inchbold.-Biography:...

.

In 1858 Brett exhibited "The Stonebreaker", the painting that made his reputation. This depicted a youth smashing stones to create a road-surface, sitting in a brightly lit and brilliantly detailed landscape. The precision of the geological and botanical detail greatly impressed Ruskin, who praised the painting highly, predicting that Brett would be able to paint a masterpiece if he were to visit the Val d'Aosta in Italy. Partly funded by Ruskin, Brett made the trip to paint the location, exhibiting it in 1859, again to high praise from Ruskin, who bought the painting. Other critics were less effusive, one describing it as a "gravestone for post-Ruskinism".

Brett continued to paint carefully detailed landscape views, staying in Italy on many occasions in the 1860s. He was always keen to stress the scientific precision of his rendering of nature, but often infused it with moral and religious significance, as recommended by Ruskin. In his later years he painted more coastal subjects and seascapes, subjects he came to know well due to his ownership of a 210 ton schooner, Viking (which had a crew of twelve), on which he travelled the Mediterranean.

During summers in the 1880s Brett rented the castle at Newport, Pembrokeshire

Newport, Pembrokeshire

Newport is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying on the River Nevern in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.- History :The town was founded by the Norman William FitzMartin about 1197...

 to use as a base for his large family while he painted, sketched and photographed the south and west costs of Wales. An exhibition in 2001 at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, entitled John Brett - a Pre-Raphaelite on the Shores of Wales brought together many of the major works from this period of his career.

Brett was also a keen astronomer, having studied the subject from childhood. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society

Royal Astronomical Society

The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...

 in 1871.

See also

• List of Pre-Raphaelite paintings - including the works of John Brett.
• The Stonebreaker
  The Stonebreaker
  The Stonebreaker is an 1857 oil-on-canvas painting by Henry Wallis. It depicts a manual labourer who appears to be asleep, worn out by his work, but has actually been worked to death....
  
  - Henry Wallis
  Henry Wallis
  Henry Wallis was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter, writer and collector.Born in London on 21 February 1830, his father's name and occupation are unknown. When in 1845 his mother, Mary Anne Thomas, married Andrew Wallis, a prosperous London architect, Henry took his stepfather's surname. His...
  
  ' painting on the same theme as Brett's.

External links

• Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery's Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource includes three paintings by John Brett.
• The Pre-Raph Pack Discover more about the artists, the techniques they used and a timeline spanning 100 years.