Calves in a Meadow

Briton Rivière 1840 - 1920

Summary

A rural scene depicting a small herd of calves in a lush meadow within a fertile landscape of gently rolling hills. Painted in a naturalistic style, two calves are visible in the foreground, one resting on the ground, the other standing at its side, calling in gesture. Beyond the scene are four calves in the background; two graze on the left while another rests, and to the right another faces away from the viewer, scratching with its right hind leg. A flock of birds fly over the meadow, some landing on amongst the cattle. An undulating landscape of trees and fields lined with hedgerows is visible in the background, beneath a hazy summer sky.

Display Label

Gallery text panel The Pre-Raphaelites in their Time Britain's first and best-known radical art movement emerged from within the Royal Academy in 1848. Its original members were rebellious art students who were disillusioned with contemporary practice. They looked back to Italian art before Raphael, seeing the pre-1500 period as one of great sincerity. They called themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In an age of rapid industrial and urban expansion, Pre-Raphaelite artists like Rossetti, Hunt and Millais, and pioneering design reformers such as William Morris, sought a return to pre-industrial values of art and design in truth to nature and materials, and good workmanship. In addition, the arts of the Middle Ages and Middle East were important sources of stylistic inspiration. The Bible, literature and contemporary life were preferred over subjects derived from classical mythology. The Brotherhood also rejected contrived studio lighting and took canvases outside to paint directly from nature. Although attempting to convey exactly what they saw, they created a heightened reality of dream-like intensity with minute details and bright, dazzling colours. Their art was a new kind of history painting for a new age.