European

Frederick Richard Pickersgill

England 1820-1900
Happy Hours 80.0018

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It is unknown if this composition refers to specific characters in poetry or history, or if it is simply an arrangement of courtly figures in Renaissance costume, idling away the hours in good company. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a small but influential group of painters and designers formed in 1848, wished to recapture the simplicity and moral purity of painting before Raphael (d. 1520). The second wave of Pre-Raphaelites, active from the 1860s to 1880s, were more interested in medieval and Renaissance costume subjects. Pickersgill was associated with this later group. Pickersgill painted many scenes from Renaissance poetry-from Spenser, Milton, Shakespeare, and the Italians-gaining election to the Royal Academy as an Associate at the early age of 27. His troubadours, demoiselles and princely figures, his characters from the Bible and British history, were heavily influenced by the English painter, William Etty, and Etty's use of clear, brilliant colors and formal (static) compositions. Pickersgill's patrons included both the government and the Crown. His Burial of Harold at Waltham Abbey was purchased for the decoration of the new Houses of Parliament, rebuilt after the fire of 1834. His early successes brought him to the attention of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who purchased Death of Francesco Foscari for the royal collections.

 

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