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Our English Coasts (Strayed Sheep) William Holman Hunt by Claire Davis Our English Coasts, 1852 (Strayed Sheep) William Hunt Biography Born April 2, 1827 /died Sept. 7, 1910 He formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Millais
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Our English Coasts(Strayed Sheep)William Holman Huntby Claire Davis
William HuntBiography • Born April 2, 1827 /died Sept. 7, 1910 • He formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Millais • His works were initially not successful but later became famous for his religious paintings Self Portrait
His paintings were know for greatattention to detail, vivid color, and elaborate symbolism • These features were influenced by the writings of John Ruskin and Thomas Carlyle, according to whom the world should be read as a system of visual signs. • Hunt felt it was the duty of the artist to reveal the correspondence between sign and fact. Out of all the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Hunt remained most true to their ideals throughout his career.
Our English Coasts(Possible satire) • The painting of a herd of endangered sheep on a cliff near Hastings combines religious and political satire with a realistic technique • From this vantage point, Hunt either could be mocking those who thought that a country with such bulwarks were defenseless, or, could be satirizing political and religious leadership which allowed the masses to stray into such danger
The Sheep as Symbols • The vulnerability of the sheep represents the dangers associated with religious sectarianism, and the even more pressing threat of invasion from foreign forces – both great concerns at the time this picture was painted. • Some thought the sheep were symbolic of men unknowingly at the brink of danger
The Coastline Symbol • The painting is located on the coast or bulwark. This by some was considered a not well protected and vulnerable part of the country. • The name was changed from Our English Coast to Strayed Sheep to take emphasis off of this fact.
Bibliography • http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/whh/replete/P14.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Holman_Hunt • http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?DOCID=1G1:18533934&ctrlInfo=Round19%3AMode19b%3ADocG%3AResult&ao=