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April Love

Explore the enchanting world of Arthur Hughes' painting 'April Love', a symbol-laden Victorian romantic scene showcasing delicate draughtsmanship, glowing colors, and deep symbolism. Discover the artistry of Hughes in this timeless masterpiece embodying the essence of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

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April Love

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  1. April Love Behind the Paint

  2. Arthur Hughes (1832 -1915) • Pre-Raphaelitism • “advocated a return to the sincerity and authenticity of the art prior to Raphael (101)” • A non-member • Only sixteen when the PRB was established in 1848

  3. Arthur Hughes • Influenced by: • The Germ • John Everett Millais • “His works are noted for their magical, glowing colouring and delicate draughtsmanship (Wikipedia).” • Never painted fallen women • Other prominent works • The Long Engagement

  4. A Work in Progress • A pencil and ink wash of April Love

  5. April Love • Oil on canvas • Setting • The garden of a Mr. Cutbush at Maidstone, Kent • The subjects • Tryphena Foord • Alexander Munro

  6. Completed in 1855 • Married Tryphena Foord • Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856 • The battle • John Ruskin vs. William Morris John Ruskin William Morris

  7. First Impressions • A quick glance… • We find “delight in the fresh vulnerable beauty of this girl, this slender spring flower; sheer aesthetic delight in the colours of the composition (101).”

  8. The Miller’s Daughter • Alfred, Lord Tennyson • Accompanied the painting in its premiere in 1856 • Love is hurt with jar and fret, Love is made a vague regret; Eyes with idle tears are set, Idle habit links us yet; What is Love? For we forget. Ah no, no.

  9. A Closer Look

  10. The Background • In the background • “One of them standing paramount, a bright virginal presence, the other one dark, disquieting and hardly to be descried at all – make passion appear…(105).” • Suitor • Aurora Leigh’s Dismissal of Romney

  11. The Face • John Ruskin – • ‘…most subtle in the quivering expression of the lips and the sweetness of the tender face shaken like a leaf by winds upon the dew and hesitating back into peace (103).’ • ‘The girl is just between joy and pain – of course her face in unintelligible, all a-quiver – like an April sky when you do not know whether the dart of it is blue – or raincloud (sic) (106).’

  12. The Rose • Placement • In suitor’s hand • Strewn on the floor • Symbolism • Female virginity

  13. The Dress • Out of the ordinary • Contemporary Victorian dress • “Hughes meant and achieved more than a mere period piece, more than yet another illustration of the Victorian tryst; the language of colors, the striking use of light and shade impress the conviction upon the viewer without the need of any biographical hint (106).”

  14. Color • Cerulean blue – evocative of all unattainable horizons (111) • Green of vegetation – repeatedly doomed to die as Persephone is yearly ravished from the earth (111) • Grasping and abandoned hand, desperate begging and half-hearted granting – the elements of Water and Air fighting against Earth and Fire (111) • Parasitic ivy – a warning not to let oneself weigh down and fasten by sordid cares alien to man’s true nature, an entreaty not to forget one’s heavenly origin (107) • Man in the background – vampire-like; blot out and drink up and sweep away (107)

  15. The Conflict • Experience life’s brilliance and accept the cycle of death • Denial of self, which may be the only way to immortality – this is synonymous to death

  16. Sources • Wikipedia.org • Persyn, Catherine. “‘Sic Luceat Lux Vestra’: A Study of Arthur Hughes’s April Love.” Religion and the Arts 9, no. 1-2 (2005): 101-115.

  17. Index of Pictures • Arthur Hughes http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/hughes/index.html • The Germ http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/97prbr.html • The Long Engagement painting http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/hughes/p-hughes7.htm • April Love ink wash http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=6958&searchid=8347 • April Love painting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Arthur_Hughes_001.jpg • The Royal Academy http://www.georgeglazer.com/prints/portraits/singletonroyal.html • John Ruskin http://home.arcor.de/oscar.wilde/pictures/ruskin.308x436.jpg • William Morris http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wmmorris3248.jpg • Aurora Leigh’s Dismissal of Romney http://tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=6956&searchid=13044&tabview=image • The Orange Rose http://www.patrickhamilton.com/images/Orange_rose_sizes.jpg

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