James Collinson (9 May 1825 – 1881) was a Victorian painter who was a member of the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

from 1848 to 1850. Collinson was known for the paintings,''The Renunciation of St Elizabeth of Hungary'', ''To Let'' and ''For Sale.'' Engaged at one time to

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romanticism, romantic, devotional and children's poems, including "Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well k ...

, their broken engagement also influenced many of her poems.

Early life

Collinson was born at

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, the son of a bookseller. He entered the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

where was a contemporary of Holman Hunt and

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

Career

Collinson was a devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

who was attracted to the devotional and

high church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

aspects of Pre-Raphaelitism. During his period as a Pre-Raphaelite, Collinson contributed a long devotional poem to '' The Germ'' and produced a number of religious works, most importantly the painting, ''The Renunciation of St Elizabeth of Hungary'' (1850). When Millais's painting '' Christ in the House of his Parents'' was accused of

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

, Collinson resigned from the Brotherhood in the belief that it was bringing the Christian religion into disrepute. After his resignation, Collinson trained for the priesthood at a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

college, but did not complete his studies. Returning to his artistic career, he painted a number of secular

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre) is the painting of genre art, which depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity ca ...

s, the best-known of which are ''To Let'' and ''For Sale'', both of which lightheartedly depict pretty women in situations that suggest moral temptation. Collinson was also secretary of the Society of British Artists from 1861 to 1870.

Personal life

A convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Collinson reverted to high Anglicanism in order to propose marriage

, but his conscience forced his return to Catholicism and the ending of the engagement. This had a profound aspect on Rossetti's work, Collinson's departure influencing a great many of her poems. In 1858, Collinson married Eliza Wheeler, one of the sisters-in-law of the painter John Rogers Herbert, an early influence on the Pre-Raphaelites. In the latter part of his life, Collinson lived in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, where he painted '' The Holy Family'' (1878). Collinson died in April 1881.

Gallery

File:James Collinson - Mother and Child by a Stile, with Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight, in the Distance - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Mother and Child by a Stile, with Culver Cliff, Isle of Wight, in the Distance'' (1849) File:James Collinson.jpg, ''The Renunciation of St Elizabeth of Hungary'' (1850) File:James Collinson (1825-1881) - The Empty Purse (replica of 'For Sale') - N03201 - National Gallery.jpg, ''The Empty Purse'' (1857) File:James Collinson - The Sisters.jpg, '' The Sisters'' (c. 1860) File:Too Hot Met DP888828.jpg, '' Too Hot'', print after Collinson, from ''Illustrated London News'' (February 28, 1863)

References

External links