Stained Glass Study, An Otter and Two Fish 

Sir John Everett Millais made this pencil drawing, "Stained Glass Study, An Otter and Two Fish," as a preparatory sketch for a stained glass window. It shows the detailed observation of nature prized within Victorian Britain and its art institutions. Millais was a leading figure in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group that sought to revive the perceived purity of early Renaissance art. His later turn to the commercially viable Aesthetic movement, which embraced beauty for its own sake, can be seen in this study. The sinuous lines of the otter and fish evoke a decorative style and a design that's suitable for stained glass, a medium often found in churches and wealthy homes. The artist also uses foreshortening to create a sense of depth. To understand this work better, we can research the Victorian stained glass industry, the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and Millais's own career, all of which shaped its artistic production. The meaning of this drawing and how it was received is contingent on that social and institutional context.