Review: millais delights

Commercial sell-out is an accusation often levied at the painter John Everett Millais - by curating a varied range of his landscapes, portraits, illustrations and historical works, it is a view the Tate has impressively dispelled.

Born in Southampton in 1829, it didn’t take long for Millais to be recognised. Accepted into the Royal Academy at 11, by 19 he had founded the Pre-Raphaelites - a movement based on the fashionable painting style before the emergence of renaissance artist Raphael.

Characterised by vivid colours Millais’ Pre-Raphaelitism feels medieval and dreamy. Only the intriguing detail of the subject’s natural surroundings stops him crossing into the symbolism of Gustave Moreau, who was painting at the same time.

The exhibition’s first room contains some of Millais’ finest pieces and is worth the ticket price alone. Aside from his famous Ophelia it holds Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru; painted when Millais was 16, its shows a classical training through a pyramidal composition, where plain faces convey pain strikingly through the eyes.

The gold picture frames throughout the show accentuate Millais’ expertise, in room 1 these are arched, window like, ensuring the viewer looks in on the painted scene. As the exhibition continues the frames straighten and the painted subjects begin to look directly at the viewer, drawing you into the image. It is a masterful skill particularly accomplished in the thought provoking The Vale of Rest.

There are times, particularly in his early work, when Millais’ technique fails; depth can be flat, proportion unsettling and space unnatural. Note for example Isabella, in which a dog seems to float above the ground.

The exhibition cleverly guides you through Millais’ artistic repertoire. Lighting is sensitive, and walking through the rooms the paintings get noticeably larger until you are treated to a finale of Millais’ rare Perthshire landscapes. Sadly, their overbearing horizons and naïve rural images disappoint.

The photograph of Millais’ spatial studio in room 6 shows the obvious commercial success he enjoyed while alive. The room’s large portraits by which he made his money, strike artistic poses, rarely facing the viewer directly. The sad image of Disraeli, arms crossed looking helpless to the events unfurling outside the picture, is particularly memorable.

Outside the Tate Britain, a large statue of Millais is draped with a plastic wreath. The tired garland is hardly fitting for the master. The exhibition however, is an impressive tribute by which the great British painter could be proud.

Millais, Tate Britain, Milbank, until January 13

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