This afternoon the whole class was directed to the Blackburn
Museum and Art Gallery and encouraged to critically analyse select works, I was
particularly drawn to the Victorian art gallery on the upper floor. I had
looked at various artist including the untitled work by Nicholas Poussin,
Crying fish in Spain by Henry La Thangue and Charles Dixon's Battle of Jutland
before finally settling on the 18th century work on John Collier.
John Collier was known for expressive and dramatic works and was a prominent preraphaelite painter in the 18th century and it is in "Hetty Sorrel" that his skill and expressive style is evident. the story of Hetty sorrel was based on the George Eliot novel focusing on the titular character who over the course of the story would abandon her baby among the the wild and resultingly tried for child murder.
Hetty Sorrel is portrayed as running through the woods with her hands to her ears desperately attempting to drown out the babies cries. The darkened area below her eyes suggests excessive crying, the dishevelled hair conveys a sense of movement and desperation as she frantically sprints through the forest her dress pressing against her legs emphasises the strong wind.
The area around her embodies confusion and despair being composed of dark morbid greens and lurid blues and is fairly blurred presenting a contrast to the much more vivid Hetty Sorrel. This has the effect of making her the focal point of the piece as she stands out against the brooding and dark misty and brooding atmosphere and in this sense we may see the environs in the way the subject perceives it an impression as she frantically moves through the dark woods
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