Sir JOHN EVERETT MILLAIS, Bt., P.R.A.
(1829-1896)

 

The Huguenot

c.1852

watercolour and pen and ink on paper

13.3 x 8.7 cm

inscribed: monogram

 P.260

A replica of the whole composition of one of Millais’ most famous and popular pictures, exhibited at the R.A. in 1852 together with this quotation:  

When the clock of the Palais de Justice shall sound upon the great bell, at day-break, (on St Bartholomew’s day) then each good Catholic must bind a strip of white linen round his arm, and place a fair white cross in his cap.

The Order of the Duke of Guise.  

The Massacre of St Batholomew took place on the morning of 24 August 1572.

Here, a young Catholic woman, during a stolen meeting, is entreating her Protestant lover to wear the white linen sash, but he is gently resisting and refusing to save his skin by denying his faith. At his feet nasturtiums grow, a token of sorrow, while ivy, the emblem of constancy, clings to the wall behind the lovers.       

The model for the Huguenot was a friend of Millais’ family, General Arthur Lemprière, while a professional model, Miss Ryan, posed for the young woman; Mrs George Hodgkinson, wife of Millais’ half-brother, also posed for this figure.         

The oil was warmly praised in The Times, 14 May, 1852 although the figure of the lover, a thorough Calvinist, was criticised because, 'his right leg has disappeared altogether, which gives him the appearance of what ornithologists call a "wader"’.    

A leading member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Millais later pursued a brilliantly successful career as an academic and society painter. He claimed to be the highest paid artist in history, was the first painter to be created a baronet and was also elected President of the R.A. a few months before he died. 

EJ          

PROVENANCE: Charles Langton of Liverpool (probably); Mrs M. Hull; Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd, from whom purchased by Gallery, October 1958.

EXHIBITIONS: Watercolours and Drawings from The Cecil Higgins Art Gallery Bedford, London, Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd, 1962, no.40.

REFERENCES: S. Oldacre, The Blacksmith's Daughter: The strange story of Ann Straight, 1985, pp.146‑7.

Copyright © Trustees of Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford.

Extract taken from Watercolours and Drawings, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery by Evelyn Joll.