William Holman Hunt and Typological Symbolism (Routledge Revivals)

<p>In this study first published in 1979 Landow contends that Hunt's version of Pre-Raphaelitism concerned itself primarily with an elaborate system of painterly symbolism rather than with a photographic realism as has been usually supposed. Like Ruskin Hunt believed that a symbolism based on scriptural typology - the method of finding anticipations of Christ in Hebrew history - could produce an ideal art that would solve the problems of Victorian painting. According to Hunt this elaborate symbolism could simultaneously avoid the dangers of materialism inherent in a realistic style the dead conventionalism of academic art and the sentimentality of much contemporary painting. </p><p>George Landow examines Hunt's work in the context of this argument and drawing on much unknown or previously inaccessible material shows how he used texts frames and symbols to create a complex art of mediation that became increasingly visionary as the artist grew older. This book is ideal for students of art history. </p>