Transcript Our English Coasts (Strayed Sheep) William Holman Hunt

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 PreRaphaelite 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 great attention
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 PreRaphaelite Brotherhood, Hunt remained
most true to their ideals throughout his
career.
Our English Coasts, 1852
(Strayed Sheep)
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/r
eplete/P14.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Holma
n_Hunt
• http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.a
sp?DOCID=1G1:18533934&ctrlInfo=Roun
d19%3AMode19b%3ADocG%3AResult&a
o=