Study for The Woodman’s Daughter 1849

Sir John Everett Millais made this pencil drawing titled 'Study for The Woodman’s Daughter' in 1849. Millais was a prominent figure in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group that challenged the artistic conventions of Victorian England. This sketch shows a woodman watching his daughter as she receives flowers from another child. It provides a glimpse into Victorian society’s romanticized view of childhood and the social hierarchy of the rural working class. This drawing reflects the Pre-Raphaelites’ fascination with detail, symbolism, and a return to medieval and early Renaissance artistic styles. They rejected the Royal Academy’s promotion of idealized beauty. Instead, they sought authenticity by portraying subjects from literature and everyday life. To fully understand this work, we can look into the social history of Victorian England, including its class structures, artistic institutions, and the Pre-Raphaelite movement’s manifestos and exhibition records.