ugustus Egg's three paintings constituting the series Past and Present deal with moralizing, theatrical scenes describing a woman's infidelity to her husband and the dramatic and dire consequences. The first, The Infidelity Discovered, looks as though it could have been set on a stage in a theater: the lighting has a spotlight quality, creating extreme chiaroscuro as it casts both light and shadow on the faces of the fallen woman's husband and two children. Part of the room is cloaked in dark shadow, suggesting perhaps secrecy and the hidden nature of the woman's affair, as well as revealing bright light to mimic her husband's discovery of her deed. Her body, thrown at the feet of her husband, as well as the figures of her family and the mirror create a strong pyramidal composition; yet, the woman's head and outstretched arms reaching into the foreground create a slightly alarming effect for the viewer, creating a sense that things are off-kilter, unbalanced.
The second and third paintings, The Abandoned Daughters and The Wife Abandoned By Her Lover With Her Bastard Child, are much darker both in tone and in color. Whereas in the first painting, elements of the happy life that the woman has supposedly ruined are evident (for instance, the lavish backdrop suggesting wealth, the elegantly clothed children at play) and spotlighted by distinct light sources, here the light is dim, suggesting a lack of hope. In both the second and third paintings, the e turn their heads to the moon with a wistful, miserable expression, and that becomes the sole focal point of each piece. Egg is visually expressing the moral consequences of base actions in a classical Victorian style.
Questions
1. What is it about Egg's paintings to which the PRB might have objected? What might they have thought valuable?
2. How does Egg's treatment of morality differ from Hogarth's? To what extent does medium (Hogarth's prints, Egg's canvases) play a part?
3. Egg's treatment of light varies within the Past and Present cycle. Which, if either, do you think that the PRB would have thought more expressive? What possible influences played a part in Egg's style?
4. What purpose was Egg trying to achieve by presenting this particular moral subject matter? Whereas Hogarth's motives were clearly to instill a work ethic in viewers, what social consequences could have resulted from the subject's actions in Egg's works?
Last modified 14 September 2004