My earlier discussion of Christ the Pilot, which suggests that Hunt probably drew upon Gericault's Raft of the "Medusa" for the work's composition, traces its religious theme to various popular hymns, including "I will trust, and not be afraid," "Temptation," and "O Zion, afflicted with wave upon wave.'' It also quotes that portion of J. M. Neale's "Safe Home," which the artist sent to his dying friend Tupper in 1879.
[Return to the discussion of Christ the Pilot]
References
A Pre-Raphaelite Friendship: The Correspondence of William Holman Hunt and John Lucas Tupper. Eds. James H. Coombs, George P. Landow, Anne Scott, and Arnold Sanders. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1986.
Landow, George P. "Christ the Pilot: a Panel from William Holman Hunt's Unfinished Triptych." Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies 1 (1980): 79-91.
Last modified 22 June 2007