Can a single painting tell the viewer a story which they don’t already know? Examples from Holman Hunt, Degas, Orchardson, Collier and Chierici.
Collier
Fine paintings from 1921, by John Collier, Christian Krohg, Félix Vallotton, Maurice Denis and others.
Paintings of the Sleeping Beauty and the Frog Prince only became popular late in the nineteenth century. Do they conform to the standard plot type?
Telling a story using shadows, and the nineteenth century controversy over the colour of shadows.
It flourished and brought commercial success to many artists, and laid the foundations for sub-genres. Still lifes were among the most innovative and exciting paintings of the day.
Paintings from the late 19th century, including the best of John Collier’s ‘problem pictures’, and whole series from James Tissot. Was he seeking his own redemption?
Exhausted and destitute figures asleep, by Christian Krohg, Ferdinand Hodler, Sorolla, Waterhouse, and others.
More favourite articles from 2019, from ‘Dante’s Divine Comedy’ as painted by William Blake, through Vincent van Gogh, to Renoir’s landscapes.
By Pierre Bonnard, Lovis Corinth, Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, John Collier, Joseph Stella, and others. Truly eclectic.
New genres in literature gave the public a taste for different forms of narrative. Here’s a short account of the response in ‘problem pictures’ from Hunt to Collier.
The Eclectic Light Company 