Richard Redgrave challenged the Victorian society through the painting titled ‘The Poor Teacher’ painted in 1843 illustrates the pitiful life of governesses in Victorian England. The artist painted another version in 1844 and was profusely altered according to the taste of John Sheepshanks; probably to comply with the Victorian taste of home sweet home. The Poor Teacher was exhibited as The Governess in 1845. The original 1843 version is now located in Gateshead (Treble 787) while the 1844 version can be viewed from the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the original painting, the governess was the only figure but the altered version included the figures of happy girls playing and reading; yet, these innocent children were oblivious to the internal struggles of their governess. The central figure of his painting was a young woman, clad in black Victorian gown. Her face highlighted the emotions she felt: sadness and regret. One tear glistened in her left eye; her right hand held a letter on her lap; which probably came from her family and there was something about the letter which made her cry, perhaps someone in her family died, fell sick, or encountered hardships. Either way, the painting is open to interpretations. But the main point of Redgrave’s painting was the fact that governesses cannot leave their duties to their employers even in the case of bereavement or sickness. Despite the addition of characters, Redgrave emphasized the governess’ by placing her on the center of the painting and her figure is bigger compared to the children; indicating her importance. In a simple Victorian drawing-room, the woman is seated beside the polished pianoforte; her left arm resting on the table along with the pile of books, inkpot, quill, and a tray with a cup and plate. The artist implies that the woman probably received the letter right after she finished her meal. On the floor beside her dainty feet, lies a basket full of fabrics for embroidery and an orange spool of thread. The painting does comply with the three-dimensional form. The vanishing point occurs from the right-side; outside the window; giving the painting its depth. Chiaroscuro highlighted the dark and light parts of the painting and gave depth to the characters’ emotions and figures; an example of this is the folds of the black dress worn by the governess are clearly evident because of the balance of dark and light colors. The painting has a smooth texture and appearance; instead of using heavy lines to draw his figures, Redgrave used the pigments to outline the figures of the children, pianoforte, the governess, and every object in the painting. This technique of implied lines gave the painting a soft and dreamy look. The artist used different color variations: on the side of the governess, the colors were muted. Redgrave only used black, white, and reddish-brown probably to sympathize with the governess’ emotions. Meanwhile, on the right panel depicting the children, the artist used bright, warm pigments such as pale rose, cerulean, white, green, and yellow. The painting takes a very naturalistic approach; the figures are not geometric since the artist sketched the figures based from the human anatomy. Space was highly utilized mainly to separate each character and emphasize their importance. For instance, figures were drawn far from each other. The governess is located a bit isolated from the rest of the children to illustrate the fact that she was not a close relation. The children were drawn closer but not to the point of overlapping; this gives the audience an idea that these children were probably cousins or sisters to each other. Furthermore, the technique of using small, yet thin brush strokes only enhanced the painting’s delicate texture and ambience.
Works Cited
Redgrave, Richard. “The Governess.” 1844. Oil on canvas. Web. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 17 Jan. 2016.
Treble, Rosemary. “London. Victorian and Post-Victorian Paintings.” The Burlington Magazine 122.932 (1980): 784-788. Web. JSTOR. 17 Jan. 2016.
