Figure 5. Edward Burne-Jones, The Wheel of Fortune, 1871-1885. Oil on canvas, 151.4 x 72.5 cm. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (381-2).

The idea of portraiture in Pre-Raphaelite art encompassed a new and exciting range of possibilities. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painted portraits with a stark realism that was unlike anything seen before. The meaning of the formal portrait mutated into a more direct vision of a real person, while subject paintings gained new meanings as artists cast friends and family in new roles.

Dr Barbara Bryant is an art historian and writer who specialises in the work of artists in nineteenth-century Britain. In this special lecture, Dr Bryant looks at the real individuals in the extended Pre-Raphaelite circles to explore their impact on the artistic practice of D.G. Rossetti, F.M Brown, J.E. Millais, E. Burne-Jones and G.F. Watts in the 1850s and 1860s with particular reference to works in Australian collections.

Date: Thursday 2nd July, 6.30pm–7.30pm
Venue: NGV International, Ground Level, Clemenger BBDO Auditorium
Tickets: Cost $16 M / $20 A / $18 C, Code P1549, Ph +61 3 8662 1555, 10am–5pm daily