OK, so I got a little obsessed with this painting here

I like it a lot – it’s called A Priestess of Dionysus and was painted by a Pre-Raphaelite painter called John Collier.
Now the fun bit is, John Collier painted a lot of portraits of science guys, including what is probably the most famous portrait of Charles Darwin – because Collier was the son-in-law of Thomas Huxley, “Darwin’s Bulldog”, and so he was sort of into that community. He was actually twice Huxley’s son-in-law, as he married two of Huxley’s daughters. Not at the same time, of course.
I always liked Pre-Raphaelite paintings, but Collier was not on my radar – probably because he was mostly a portrait painter.
So I thought… why not do a gallery of John Collier’s paintings?
Here goes. Click on a thumbnail to see a large version.

Collier, John; Thomas Henry Huxley; National Portrait Gallery, London; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/thomas-henry-huxley-155387

Collier, John; The Amber Necklace; Grundy Art Gallery; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-amber-necklace-150553

Collier, John; Young Girl Draped in a Tiger Skin ; St John’s College, University of Cambridge; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/young-girl-draped-in-a-tiger-skin-139381

Collier, John; The Minx; Swindon Museum Art Collection; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-minx-65034

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Collier, John; The Queen’s Shilling; Government Art Collection; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-queens-shilling-30012

Collier, Lady Godiva

(c) Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Author: Davide Mana

Paleontologist. By day, researcher, teacher and ecological statistics guru. By night, pulp fantasy author-publisher, translator and blogger. In the spare time, Orientalist Anonymous, guerilla cook.