Two Gentlemen of Verona - Victorian Radicals at the Gas Hall, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Victorian Radicals opened up at the Gas Hall in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in February 2024, and is open until October 2024.

This was a late April 2024 visit on a rainy day, booked the £11 ticket before I headed to the museum.

Most of the museum is still closed for repairs, but the Gas Hall re-opened earlier in 2024.

Three generations of British artists, designers and makers revolutionised the visual arts in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Pre-Raphaelites, William Morris and his circle and the men and women of the Arts and Crafts movement transformed art and design.

Selected from the city of Birmingham's outstanding collection, Victorian Radicals presents vibrant paintings and exquisite drawings alongside jewellery, glass, textiles and metalwork to explore their radical vision for art and society.

Fresh from an award-winning tour of the US, Victorian Radicals is the first comprehensive showing of the city’s Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts collections in Birmingham for over five years. Discover the story of the Pre-Raphaelites themselves and their influence on artists and makers well into the twentieth century – especially in Birmingham itself. Paintings made by artists including Kate Bunce, Joseph Southall and Arthur Gaskin combined the poetry and intensity of the Pre-Raphaelites’ work with a distinctive identity all their own.

Open Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm. In the Gas Hall at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

Pre-book to guarantee entry. Alternatively you can buy tickets on arrival (subject to availability).

This exhibition is organised by Birmingham Museums Trust and the American Federation of Arts. Supported by the Friends of Birmingham Museums.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

(Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus), 1851 William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) Oil on canvas

The subject of this painting comes from William Shakespeare's play Two Gentlemen of Verona. Valentine, in the centre, rescues his beloved Sylvia from the sexual advances of his friend Proteus, seen kneeling on the right, hanging his head in shame. To the left is Julia, disguised as a pageboy. She loves the disgraced Proteus and looks on in horror, still wearing a ring he had given her as a sign of his loyalty.

Hunt rose to the challenge presented by this complex subject. Each figure is precisely painted in shining, vivid colours, which were painted on a white ground layer to increase their luminosity. The picture is also notable for the detail of the autumnal landscape, painted outdoors at Knole Park in Kent. Hunt painted the figures in his London studio, with Sylvia modelled by the future artist Elizabeth Siddall.

Purchased (18877953)

Some rights reserved

Taken in: UK / England / Brum (show map)

Taken on: April 27, 2024

Tags:

Gas Hall

Chamberlain Square

west midlands

england

united kingdom

great britain

birmingham museum & art gallery

BM & AG

museum

birmingham museum and art gallery

birmingham museums

birmingham city council

Birmingham Museums Trust

Victorian Radicals

From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus

William Holman Hunt « less

Sets appears in: • Shakespeare • Victorian Radicals From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement more » • Exhibits in BM & AG (permenant and temporary) • Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery « less

Groups appears in: • Shakespeare • At the museum

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, f/3.5, 1/30 sec, 4.9mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.033 sec (1/30)
Focal Length:	4.9mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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