The pre-Raphaelites are usually thought of as a band of brothers who loved painting ethereal-looking women. Think of William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Yet there were women too, mostly overlooked, in this 19th-century art movement. Pre-Raphaelite Sisters, opening at the National Portrait Gallery in London on 17 October, includes works by Marie Spartali Stillman, Maria Zambaco (both of Greek origin), Joanna Wells, who exhibited at the Royal Academy, Evelyn De Morgan, Georgiana Burne-Jones, the wife of painter Edward, and Jane Morris, married to William and mistress of Rossetti.
Perhaps the most famous “sister” is Effie Gray, once disastrously wed to John Ruskin before she left the critic for Millais. Gray acted as a manager for Millais, fixing up his portraits and dealing with clients, while having to relinquish her own painting ambitions. Similar roles were played by several other muses.
The most fascinating story is that of Jamaican-born Fanny Eaton, daughter of an ex-slave, who came to London in her teens, where she sat for Millais and Rossetti. The money helped supplement her wages as a cleaner and went towards bringing up her 10 kids. There are a few studies of her in the exhibition plus details of her life, recently pieced together by her great-grandson.
A very different exhibition about women has just opened at Bristol’s Arnolfini gallery. Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender, Resistance – Act 3 is its first show since January last year, when the gallery was forced to close after the Arts Council took away its public funding. Yet for much of the second half of the 20th century, before it lost its way, the Arnolfini was the foremost in the region for contemporary art.
The gallery has now wisely teamed up with the University of the West of England, which has purchased the freehold of the building, installing its art and design departments on the top floors. The Arnolfini just pays a peppercorn rent.
Judging this a sensible business strategy, the Arts Council has now restored funding. With Bristol city council itself, rather miserly, refusing to provide any money, a deal with the local uni makes sense. It’s a route that is increasingly being considered by other hard-pressed arts companies.
I saw trailers earlier this month for The Farewell where it looked like a schmaltzy, soppy comedy. Now there’s a film I should miss. But last weekend I read a few reviews by critics I trust, and went. This US-Chinese movie was a delight – poignant and insightful with, yes, some amusing moments. It’s not the first time I’ve found a trailer misleading, probably because the clips are chosen by the marketing departments, who target the lowest common denominator, rather than by directors. It’s the movie equivalent of “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
My favourite story of the week was the discovery of an early Renaissance painting in the kitchen of an elderly French woman. It turned out to be Christ Mocked by the great Florentine artist Cimabue, and is worth £5m. The item was on Radio 4 News. And the reporter? A certain Will Leonardo. How very appropriate.
