The Order of Release, 1746 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Order of Release, 1746 |
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| Artist | John Everett Millais |
| Year | 1852–1853 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 102.9 cm × 73.7 cm (40.5 in × 29.0 in) |
| Location | Tate Britain, London |
The Order of Release, 1746 is a famous painting by John Everett Millais. He showed it to the public in 1853. This artwork is important because it shows Millais starting to change his painting style. He began to move away from the very detailed, medieval style of Pre-Raphaelitism that he used when he was younger. A woman named Effie Gray, who later married Millais, posed for the main female character in the painting.
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What the Painting Shows
This painting tells a story from history. It shows the wife of a soldier from the Scottish Highlands. Her husband was put in prison after the Jacobite rising of 1745. This was a time when people in Scotland tried to put a new king on the throne.
The painting captures a special moment. The wife has brought an official paper that will free her husband from prison. She is holding her young child close to her. She proudly shows the important paper to a guard. At the same time, her husband is hugging her tightly, full of emotion.
The Story in Detail
The painting shows the husband, who is weak and has a bandage on his arm. This suggests he was hurt recently. He is so happy and relieved that he can only hug his wife and cry. His wife, however, looks strong and determined. She has been through a lot of trouble to get her husband free. Her eyes look tired from crying and not sleeping. She looks at the serious guard with a proud expression. It's like she is saying, "I did it! All my hard work has paid off."
Millais's Painting Style
This painting shows some new things in Millais's art. Earlier, he often painted backgrounds with lots of tiny details, like in his painting Ophelia. But in The Order of Release, the background is darker and less detailed. This makes the people in the painting stand out more.
Millais also used something called chiaroscuro in this painting. This is a technique where artists use strong contrasts between light and dark. It helps to create a dramatic feeling and makes certain parts of the painting pop out.
Connecting to Other Works
Even though his style was changing, Millais continued to paint about strong emotions. He often showed how big historical events affected people's lives. You can see this in other paintings he made, like A Huguenot and The Proscribed Royalist, 1651. These paintings also show people dealing with difficult times caused by history.
How the Painting Was Made
While Millais was working on The Order of Release, he became good friends with Effie Gray. She was married to John Ruskin, who was a very important art critic and supported Millais's work. Effie posed for the main woman in the painting.
Artists often make small drawings or sketches before they paint. One of Millais's sketches for this painting shows a drawing of Effie's head. On the other side of the same paper, there is a drawing of a man kneeling in front of a woman. This drawing is labeled "accepted."
See also
- List of paintings by John Everett Millais
