William Holman Hunt's sketch for the lantern in The Light of the World by William Holman Hunt. Source: Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I, 308. [Click on image to enlarge it.]

Hunt explained: “One of my first duties now was to design the lantern which was to be carried by the Saviour; the windows and openings had to be carefully studied in relation to the rays of light they would emit from the central light. It had to be made in metal; it seemed to me that tin might serve the purpose, which could be lacquered to it gold. A metal worker agreed to make it for a small sum, but afterwards represented that the cost would not be much extra if made in brass, and as this seemed too trifling to be considered, I assented, but was not a little dismayed eventually at having to pay over seven pounds. Had I gone to a brass ornamentalist in the first instance it is probable that his price would have been less, and the work much better” (I, 308-9).

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Scanned image and text by George P. Landow [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

References

William Holman Hunt, Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1905.


Last modified 27 October 2012