He specialised in ‘light genre’ paintings, not-to-serious domestic scenes, painted in fine detail, and was praised by Ruskin.
Yeames
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.
Besieged with inquiries from people who couldn’t sleep, Yeames judged a contest to explain his painting. It was clear that even he didn’t know the answer.
Fine examples from Millais, Berthold Woltze, Yeames, William Quiller Orchardson, and Degas.
He specialised in history paintings of the Tudor and Stuart period, and later painted problem pictures to puzzle the viewer. He died 100 years ago today.
In the year ahead, Gustav Klimt, Ferdinand Hodler, Tintoretto, Egon Schiele, and several others: anniversaries which I will celebrate here.
Their purpose was to encourage speculation and debate as to what their narrative is.
The Eclectic Light Company 