William Holman Hunt, The Father’s Leave-Taking
Mother as Ideal, Mother as Sacrifice
William Holman Hunt, the founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, illustrates the beauty and fragility of life in this etching of his second wife, Edith, holding their child, Glady, above her arms in a moment of intensity. Set amongst columns and a domestic scene in the doorway behind, Hunt is alluding to the Renaissance— an era strongly associated with an appreciation of history paintings, particularly about the life of Jesus Christ.
Hunt, (especially during his time spent in the holy land of Jerusalem), regularly combined religious iconographies, alluding to classics and historical trends. Specifically, this etching echoes the familiar image of the Madonna of Humility, which are characterized by depictions of Mary seated on the ground. This kind of depiction is generally meant to highlight the piety, fragility, and volume of sacrifice of the Virgin. By placing common folk in a scene typically reserved for Christ, Hunt universalizes this sacrifice, suggesting perhaps that sacrifice and piety might, or should, characterize all good mothers. This advertent placement of undistinguished people in traditional poses of Christ and Mary was controversial yet somewhat typical of Hunt and his fellow Pre-Raphaelites.
Thought of as an atheist by many in his early life, Hunt is turning towards a more religious portrayal of family after losing his first wife, Fanny Waugh, during childbirth. Hunt portrays the sacrificial undertakings of the body that mothers endure during pregnancy and childbirth. Especially in times before medicine focused on maternity and female health, many women died in labor.