Isabella

Isabella (1849) is the first painting John Everett Millais exhibited in the Pre-Raphaelite style, shortly after the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed. It was first shown at the Royal Academy and is now held by the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. Its subject comes from a tale in Boccaccio's Decameron, later retold by Keats in his poem about Isabella and the pot of basil: Lorenzo, a humble clerk, loves Isabella, the sister of wealthy merchants who plan to kill him so she can marry a nobleman. The moment shown is a meal in which the brothers begin to suspect the romance. The blood orange Lorenzo offers foreshadows his death, while the spilled salt, the red wine and the dog cowering beneath the chair hint at the violence to come. Millais arranges the figures in profile, with a deliberately skewed perspective and flat, intense colour, following the group's principles and recalling medieval and Italian painting. Many details, such as the majolica plates and the patterned fabrics, add further layers of meaning. Met with mixed reactions, the work marked the start of Millais's Pre-Raphaelite career.

Painter

John Everett Millais

Date

1849

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

103 × 143 cm

Museum

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Movement

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Genre

genre art

Depicts

dog, banquet

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