John Brett:
Pre-Raphaelite Landscape Painter

Charles Brett, Christiana Payne

Price
£40
Type
Print
Publicaton Date
May 2010
Standard Number
9780300165753
Distributor
Yale University Press
Specifications
304 pages

Drawing on a wealth of unpublished sketchbooks, journals, and writings, this essential guide to John Brett (1831–1902) investigates the painter who was seen as the leader of the Pre-Raphaelite landscape school. In addition to exploring the familiar early works, including The Val d'Aosta and Stonebreaker, it provides rich information on his later, less-known coastal and marine paintings. Brett’s turbulent friendship with John Ruskin is discussed, as are his relations with his beloved sister, Rosa, and his partner Mary, with whom he had seven children. His fervent interest in astronomy, his love of the sea, and his lifelong pursuit of wealth and recognition are all examined in this reassessment, which concludes with a catalogue raisonné of his works, prepared by his descendent Charles Brett.