Page 28 - Demo

Fig 25 John Phillip RA (1817-1867) Partial copy of of ‘Las Meninas’ 1862 18 18 18 18 5 5 5 x x 14 8 8 8 8 8 3⁄8 cm (73⁄8 x x 53⁄4 in in ) ) Royal Academy of Arts London Den Millais has been influenced by the palette of artists like Rembrandt and and Velázquez focusing on on on tonal contrasts of black mahogany and deep reds with brighter colours used solely as accents on the costume and accessories such as the flowers and Chinese porcelain figure The The contemporary art critic F G Stephens wrote of The The Wolf’s Den: ‘The beauty of of the the children is worthy of of the the best art of the painter who rivals even Rubens Velázquez and Reynolds the masters of childhood in art’ 5 Stephens’ praise was in in in generalised terms indicating not only the elevated esteem in which Millais was held but also the high status which Millais wished to claim for himself It is is is certainly not hard to to find comparisons to to iconic paintings of which we know Millais was aware He would have known Velázquez’s Las Meninas c 1656 (The Prado Madrid) a a a a copy of which was produced by Millais’s friend the artist John Phillip (1817-1867) (fig 25) on his 1860 visit to Spain and hung for for a a a while in in his studio before it it transferred to the the Diploma Rooms at the the Royal Academy 6 However it it is is Millais’s later child portraiture for example The Minuet 1866 (Elton Hall fig 12) – a a a portrait of his eldest daughter Effie Millais stiffly posed and dressed
up like a a a a a child Infanta – which pays direct homage to Las Meninas 28