Sir John Everett Millais Bt. PRA, Sketch for 'A Forerunner' and other drawings, 1896.
Black and white chalk on straw board. 453 mm x 370 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: John Hammond.
This image is not available to download. To licence this image for commercial purposes, contact our Picture Library at picturelibrary@royalacademy.org.uk
Sir John Everett Millais Bt. PRA, Sketch for 'A Forerunner' and other drawings, 1896.
Black and white chalk on straw board. 453 mm x 370 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: John Hammond.
This image is not available to download. To licence this image for commercial purposes, contact our Picture Library at picturelibrary@royalacademy.org.uk
Sketch for 'A Forerunner' and other drawings, 1896
Sir John Everett Millais Bt. PRA (1829 - 1896)
RA Collection: Art
These three sheets include preparatory studies for A Forerunner(1895-6; Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow), one of Millais's last paintings. The scene depicts St. John the Baptist, the 'forerunner' of Christ, wearing animal skins and standing in a wilderness. These drawings suggest that Millais was experimenting with the pose of the saint who holds up two sticks to bind together, inadvertantly making the sign of the Cross. The painting is one of a group of late works addressing religious themes - including 'St Stephen' (1895) and 'A Disciple' (1895) - all of which feature a single figure painted in sombre, muted tones.
Object details
453 mm x 370 mm
recto
verso
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