Millais' Newman

That portrait is rather dull and lifeless.

o r a n g e
b l u e

That is in no way a great example of Millais work. It's pretty dull and lifeless, unlike the majority of his work, or indeed any of the other members of the brotherhood

From the same year try GF Watts portrait of Cardinal Manning instead. Millais was well into his 'Bubbles' dotage by 1881.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Cardinal_Manning.jp g

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

That one is far better than the one in the OP. The character of the sitter comes across rather effectively.

o r a n g e
b l u e

To do justice to the painting, I'm adding a link to an uncropped image. This gives the figure a bit more room to breath, which I think is a distinct improvement:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/John_Henry_Newman_b y_Sir_John_Everett_Millais%2C_1st_Bt.jpg

I was going to say that, as I work more or less round the corner from the National Portrait Gallery, I would go in and see it tomorrow, but it turns out to be on display at Arundel Castle.


Call me Ishmael...

That's a much better photograph of the painting, but it still fails to show the character of the sitter.

o r a n g e
b l u e

It's just not a very good example of Millais work, he's one of my favourite artists and this is a shadow of most of his masterpieces.

It is certainly less silly and theatrical than some other Pre-Raphaelite Italian liqueur-label examples.

I think it is a very quiet character study of Newman. It moves me.














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