2nd April 2017
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood co-founder (along with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais) was born on this day in 1827, and died on the 7th September 1910.
The English painter was the only member of the Brotherhood who remained faithful to the Pre-Raphaelite aims throughout his career. As described by Art UK, “Hunt’s work was remarkable for its minute precision, its accumulation of incident, and its didactic emphases on moral or social symbolism, and he made three visits to the Middle East so he could paint biblical scenes with accurate local detail.”
If you’d like to know about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, take a look at our past blogs where we take a deeper look! The three founders sought to revitalise art by detailed observations of the natural world in truthful portrayals.
In his personal life, Hunt married twice after a failed engagement to model Annie Miller. He married Fanny Waugh, the daughter of a prosperous London chemist and posed for the figure of Isabella. She died in childbirth in Italy and was buried in the English cemetery in Florence in a tomb he sculpted for her, placed next to the tomb of Elizabeth Barrett Browning for her final resting place. His relationship with St Mark’s Church in Florence meant he could pay to have a inscription on the communion chalice in Fanny’s memory. The second time he married was a controversial one as he married Fanny’s sister Edith. It was illegal in England at this time to marry a deceased wife’s sister and so the pair went overseas to marry which as you can imaging caused conflict amongst family members and friends. Thomas Woolner in particular fell out with Hunt- former colleagues of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, he’d once been in love with Fanny, before marrying their third sister, Alice.
It’s surprising today when his works are in famous art galleries, that Hunt’s works were not initially successful. They were deemed ‘clumsy’ and ‘ugly’ in the art community and though at the time he was recognised for his n naturalistic scenes, it’s his religious pieces that have stood the test of time to become his legacy. Most notably, ‘The Light of the World’ (1851-1853) which now can be seen in the chapel at Keble College, Oxford and a later version (1900) which toured the world and now lives in St Paul’s Cathedral in London. He even built his own house in Jerusalem.
Towards the later years of his life, he was no longer able to paint due to his failing eyesight meaning he could no longer achieve the quality he wanted. His last major works were completed with his assistant Edward Robert Hughes help- including ‘The Light of the World.’ He died on 7th September 1910 and was laid to rest in St Paul’s Cathedral.
We’ve been lucky enough to visit some of his famous art pieces in Birmingham Art Gallery- the attention to detail he remains famous to is even more astonishing in real life- he’s truly a master of his craft so it’s no surprise his legacy has lived on to ensure his place in the art world even today.
William Holman Hunt – ‘The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple’
William Holman Hunt- ‘Dante Gabriel Rossetti’ c.1882
Oil on Panel
Painted shortly after Rossetti’s death, it was created at an emotional time by Hun’s own account just after he lost a friend. The painting marks the days when Hunt was recalling, “memories of early days when, partly by the noisy blundering of followers we were driven to stand as though we were reckless in our challenges of the whole world.”
William Holman Hunt – ‘Self -Portrait’ 1945
A self portrait he painted of himself, aged 17 when he was a student at the Royal Academy Schools in London.
Let’s not forget our favourite…
William Holman Hunt- May Morning on Magdalen Tower, 1888
The painting centres around his feelings about preserving the customs traditional in England. It shows the riding sun on May Day from the Tower of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Which is your favourite Holman-Hunt works?
Posted in News by Laura
Did you know we offer a gift wrap service? 🎁 If you’ve got a loved one you’d like to send a floral gift to this year, you can send it straight to their door all wrapped with a note written by the Laura’s Beau elves 🎄🤶🏻 It’s an option on our website only and you can check the gift wrap box at checkout to write your gift tag that we will hand write for you (we also won’t include a reciept or anything of course, but will email it to you instead ✨) Are you giving any William Morris floral goodies to your friends and family this year? 🤍
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Anyone else started on the mince pies this weekend? 🥧 We’ve been feeling rather festive the last week or so, are you all in the festive spirit yet or waiting until December? 🎄
📸 features our William Morris Brother Rabbit blue design 🤍
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To brighten up the kitchen with florals, we love hanging our William Morris tea towels on hooks, over the oven door or kitchen sink 🌿 An easy way to add a pop of colour or design ✨ They’re a great Christmas gift this year and come in a whole range of Morris designs to suit everyone’s kitchens 🎁
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Use Code: BF15 for 15% at checkout until Monday 27th at midnight 🌛 Happy Shopping ✨ (valid on our website only; www.laurasbeau.co.uk 🌿
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🎄 A Christmas table set up using our Red Strawberry Thief licensed William Morris design ✨ We love how perfect it is dressed up for Christmas but can be used all year round accessorised for all the seasons 🌿
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Our virtual craft market is now live! ✨ Only on our Etsy page, you can now shop a limited range different sizes of our licensed William Morris fabrics as offcuts and also, some craft bundles🧵And there is also a pretty fabulous Black Friday deal on everything on our Etsy at the moment! 🌿We`re always working to be more sustainable (you can read more about what we do on our blog) and offcuts is a great way for us to reduce waste - some are larger pieces that are various widths and lengths and some are bundles of fabric offcuts. ✨ Accurate measurements are in the listing, and you`ll find the full market under a tab on our Etsy. The bundles are brilliant gifts for crafters, quilters and those who you know would like to try a whole range of William Morris fabrics 🎁
We`ll keep this tab updated as and when we have fabric ready so keep checking back! Remember, we do sell all our fabric by the half metre if you find a new fave in a bundle 🤍
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Used for a very special engagement tablescape this past weekend was our timelessly beautiful Charlotte Rose! 🥂💍✨ It’s actually a design from our French archive, we absolutely love it ☺️ If you’re starting your Christmas shopping it’s a wonderful gift idea for them to love using all year round on their table 🥂
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#tablescape #tabledecor #engagement #frenchfloral #frenchflorals #floraltable #florals #floraldesign
A wonderful addition to the table, our placemats, available in a range of licensed William Morris designs, set the scene for a whole range of celebrations sat around the table 🥂
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These green tones together are so lovely 🌿 Can you name all of these licensed William Morris designs? Which is your favourite? ✨ If you’d like a sample of any just let us know ☺️
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Autumn tablescapes always brighten the home up this time of year ✨ This is our William Morris Compton design, always super popular it’s got the most beautiful colours within it ✨
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🎃 Just a little pup in his pumpkin outfit to deliver a Halloween treat for you! Get 15% off our website with code: Halloween 👻 His little Strawberry Thief bandana is so easy to make from our fabric and always looks so cute on him, we need to make him one in every design! ✨ (discount code can be used only on our website until Sunday at midnight!) 🎃
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Functional + stylish, a tea towel thrown over the cooker or sink really does brighten up the kitchen - bringing some florals inside the home! ✨ This is our licensed William Morris Sweet Briar design, we absolutely love this delicate design with soft pink flowers 🌷
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A fabric stack full of William Morris licensed designs, which is your favourite? ✨
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Sitting at the table to admire our latest floral arrangement creation with a cuppa! ☕️ Don’t these colours look absolutely wonderful with our beautiful licensed William Morris design Compton 🧡
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Back in stock- wonderful Golden Lily pvc fabric 🤩 Its a wipe clean material, so is absolutely perfect for the dining table 🍴 Available by the half metre in length, its 140cm wide, so fits most tables, an easy option whilst not compromising on beautiful William Morris florals! 💐
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Can’t forget your Strawberry Thief tote if you’re off to the shops! 🛍️
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Sunday evenings in the Autumn months call out for a cosy fire and treats 🍂 Mallow Wine always looks so beautiful this time of year, the placemats are so handy for protecting surfaces from hot dishes and mugs, plus are so lovely on the tablescapes! 🤍
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October calls for pumpkin decorations 🎃 Brother Rabbit looking completely beautiful on the table as always 🌿 It never needs a complex tablescape as the design speaks for itself! 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisdesign #design #brotherrabbit #octobertablescape #autumntablescape #floraltable #tablecloth
Florals in the sunshine ☀️✨ Can you name all of our licensed William Morris prints? 🌿
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Off to the beach! 🏝️☀️ Got to have a tote with us that can fit all the snacks, books and suncream! 🦀 Golden Lily in the sun is so beautiful 🐠🐬
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