The Hireling Shepherd
Encyclopedia
The Hireling Shepherd is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt
. It represents a shepherd neglecting his flock in favour of an attractive country girl to whom he shows a death's-head hawkmoth
. The meaning of the image has been much debated.
Hunt painted the picture when he was working in close collaboration with John Everett Millais
, who was painting Ophelia
at the same time in the same region of Surrey
. Both paintings depict English rural scenes, the innocence of which is disturbed by subtle but profoundly threatening violations of natural harmony. In Hunt's painting, the shepherd ignores his flock of sheep, who wander over a ditch into a field of corn. This violation of boundaries is paralleled by the shepherd's physical intrusions into the personal space of the young woman, who responds in an ambiguous way that might be interpreted as complicity or as a knowing scepticism. As he shows her the moth, he places his arm round her shoulder.
ic" by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
because of her exotic features. Watkins travelled to London to model for Hunt to complete the picture, but returned home after she failed to establish herself independently as a model. The model for the male figure is not known, but was probably a professional.
When it was first displayed in the Royal Academy
, it was accompanied by a quotation from King Lear
:
objected to the "fiery red skin" and "wiry hair" of Hunt’s peasants (22 May, 1852, p. 407). The Athenaeum
was particularly offended by these "rustics of the coarsest breed...flushed and rubicund" from too much cider. It insisted that "romp and rubicundity of this pair contrast with the pallor and pathos of Mr Millais
’s picture [Ophelia
]." (22 May, 1852, p. 581-3)
His supporters insisted that the painting was an unvarnished image of social fact. Hunt himself, however, hinted that he had a hidden meaning in mind, a claim he elaborated upon in a letter when the painting was acquired by Manchester City Art Gallery. Hunt asserted that he intended the couple to symbolise the pointless theological debates which occupied Christian churchmen while their "flock" went astray due to a lack of proper moral guidance. This would make the title a Biblical allusion; in the story of the Good Shepherd (in the King James Version), the Good Shepherd is explicitly contrasted with a hireling shepherd, who has no care for the sheep [John 10:11-15].
published a short story entitled "Calmuck" in Charles Dickens
' magazine Household Words
. It was a thinly disguised account of Hunt's experience painting the picture and of his relations with his model Emma Watkins. Some of Hunt's relatives were shocked by the apparent implication that Watkins had come to London to be with Hunt. Hunt wrote an outraged letter to Dickens, who claimed to be unaware that the story was based on real events.
The irreconcilability between the interpretations and the complex ambiguities in the poses and expressions led the novelist Brian Aldiss
to discuss the painting in detail in his "anti-novel" Report on Probability A (1968) in which characters from parallel universes observe each other in an attempt to comprehend the alien worlds they have been given partial access to. The painting is repeatedly described as an example of an image that may have a clear and legible meaning, if only it can be found, or, alternatively, it may be a fragment of experience forever locked into an unreadable moment with multiple possible narratives leading to it and from it.
William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:...
. It represents a shepherd neglecting his flock in favour of an attractive country girl to whom he shows a death's-head hawkmoth
Death's-head Hawkmoth
The name Death's-head Hawkmoth refers to any one of the three species of moth in the genus Acherontia. The former species is primarily found in Europe, the latter two are Asian, and most uses of the common name refer to the European species...
. The meaning of the image has been much debated.
Hunt painted the picture when he was working in close collaboration with 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:...
, who was painting Ophelia
Ophelia (painting)
Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851-52. Currently held in the Tate Britain in London, it depicts Ophelia, a character from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark....
at the same time in the same region of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Both paintings depict English rural scenes, the innocence of which is disturbed by subtle but profoundly threatening violations of natural harmony. In Hunt's painting, the shepherd ignores his flock of sheep, who wander over a ditch into a field of corn. This violation of boundaries is paralleled by the shepherd's physical intrusions into the personal space of the young woman, who responds in an ambiguous way that might be interpreted as complicity or as a knowing scepticism. As he shows her the moth, he places his arm round her shoulder.
Origins and exhibition
Hunt used a local country girl Emma Watkins as a model. She was known as "the CoptCopt
The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....
ic" by 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...
because of her exotic features. Watkins travelled to London to model for Hunt to complete the picture, but returned home after she failed to establish herself independently as a model. The model for the male figure is not known, but was probably a professional.
When it was first displayed in the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, it was accompanied by a quotation from King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
:
- Sleepeth or waketh thou, jolly shepherd?
- Thy sheep be in the corn;
- And for one blast of thy minikin mouth,
- Thy sheep shall take no harm.
Interpretations
After it was exhibited, Hunt's enemies condemned the painting for its vulgarity, objecting to its portrayal of red-faced and sexually uninhibited country people. The Illustrated London NewsIllustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
objected to the "fiery red skin" and "wiry hair" of Hunt’s peasants (22 May, 1852, p. 407). The Athenaeum
Athenaeum (magazine)
The Athenaeum was a literary magazine published in London from 1828 to 1921. It had a reputation for publishing the very best writers of the age....
was particularly offended by these "rustics of the coarsest breed...flushed and rubicund" from too much cider. It insisted that "romp and rubicundity of this pair contrast with the pallor and pathos of Mr 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 picture [Ophelia
Ophelia (painting)
Ophelia is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais, completed between 1851-52. Currently held in the Tate Britain in London, it depicts Ophelia, a character from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, singing before she drowns in a river in Denmark....
]." (22 May, 1852, p. 581-3)
His supporters insisted that the painting was an unvarnished image of social fact. Hunt himself, however, hinted that he had a hidden meaning in mind, a claim he elaborated upon in a letter when the painting was acquired by Manchester City Art Gallery. Hunt asserted that he intended the couple to symbolise the pointless theological debates which occupied Christian churchmen while their "flock" went astray due to a lack of proper moral guidance. This would make the title a Biblical allusion; in the story of the Good Shepherd (in the King James Version), the Good Shepherd is explicitly contrasted with a hireling shepherd, who has no care for the sheep [John 10:11-15].
Literary significance
In 1859 Robert Barnabas BroughRobert Barnabas Brough
Robert Barnabas Brough was an English writer. He wrote poetry, novels and plays and was a contributor to many periodicals.-Life and work:...
published a short story entitled "Calmuck" in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' magazine Household Words
Household Words
Household Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words" — Henry V.-History:...
. It was a thinly disguised account of Hunt's experience painting the picture and of his relations with his model Emma Watkins. Some of Hunt's relatives were shocked by the apparent implication that Watkins had come to London to be with Hunt. Hunt wrote an outraged letter to Dickens, who claimed to be unaware that the story was based on real events.
The irreconcilability between the interpretations and the complex ambiguities in the poses and expressions led the novelist Brian Aldiss
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
to discuss the painting in detail in his "anti-novel" Report on Probability A (1968) in which characters from parallel universes observe each other in an attempt to comprehend the alien worlds they have been given partial access to. The painting is repeatedly described as an example of an image that may have a clear and legible meaning, if only it can be found, or, alternatively, it may be a fragment of experience forever locked into an unreadable moment with multiple possible narratives leading to it and from it.