Frank Bernard Dicksee 1853–1928 — English artist and illustrator who painted portraits and history paintings in the style of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Viking Funeral. 1893
Like many Pre-Raphaelites, Dicksee sought inspiration from a variety of literary works, including Shakespeare's tragedies, iconic English ballads, and folk tales.
Chivalry. 1885
His paintings are very decorative, beauty and aesthetics are in the foreground, obscuring any reliable historical details. Formally, Dicksee did not belong to the Brotherhood, but seeing the popularity of their paintings, he could not resist the temptation to paint in the same manner. However, in artistic skill and adherence to all the canons of the Pre-Raphaelites, his paintings were not inferior to the works of recognized members of this Brotherhood, although such borrowing did not allow him to form some original style of his own, and he did not try to do this.
Two Crowns. 1900
Dicksee was able to masterfully convey the texture of various materials, be it the steel of knights' armor or the rustling silk and velvet of ladies' dresses. He carefully worked with the color palette, and was excellent at painting various light effects, be it a sunset or glare from a fire.
Romeo and Juliet. 1884
In general, a good academic school and unconditional skill of the draftsman are immediately visible, although, perhaps, Dicksee was not too inventive in constructing the composition and choosing themes for his paintings, he painted “as expected”, wanting to please the public and critics as much as possible.
Mirror. 1896
The portraits of this artist gained great popularity: he earned his living mainly with them. Dicksee was even called "the master of the elegant compliment for the ladies", fortunately he always knew how to flatter the client, thoroughly, but at the same time unobtrusively embellishing her, choosing the most advantageous pose, lighting, carefully displaying an exquisite dress and rich jewelry. It is not surprising that his portraits were highly valued, and there was no end to the clients, and especially the clients. Although this success is a consequence of talent and steady movement towards his goal - to become a successful artist, which Dicksee set in childhood.
His father, Thomas Dicksee, was a famous artist and wanted his children to continue his craft. He often gave them painting lessons, taught them everything he knew. Frank showed the greatest abilities, which allowed him to enter the Royal Academy of Arts. He studied diligently, was repeatedly awarded silver and gold medals and was in good standing at the Academy. Like many other students, young Dicksee earned extra money as an illustrator, drawing for various English newspapers and magazines, since the demand for such drawings was very high due to the insufficient prevalence of photography.
But Dicksee did not want to be a simple illustrator - the pay was not too high, and the work did not allow him to fully demonstrate all the skills he had acquired at the Academy. Therefore, he left graphics, concentrating on easel painting. In 1877, he presented his painting "Harmony" at the Academy Exhibition, which was immediately noticed and appreciated.
Harmony
The young artist was talked about by viewers and venerable critics. And that was all Dicksee needed – it is no secret that participation in exhibitions was an excellent way to attract attention and get lucrative orders. Dicksee focused on painting portraits, although he did not deny himself the pleasure of presenting his vision of English ballads, iconic literary works or Shakespeare's tragedies. One of the most notable works was written based on John Keats's poem "The Unmerciful Beauty".
Ruthless beauty
This short work - only 12 quatrains - tells the story of a wandering knight who fell under the spell of a beauty he accidentally saw and hopelessly fell in love at first sight. In Dicksee's painting, you can see that the knight, having forgotten all the vows and rules he had taken on himself, gave her a place on his horse, and he himself follows, looking up into the bottomless and clearly hypnotizing eyes of the beauty. Who she is is unknown: maybe she is a witch who took on a charming appearance and bewitched the knight. But this understatement and mystical component, coupled with magnificent decorativeness, has its own special charm, for which the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites are so appreciated and loved.
Scared
Dicksee had a brilliant career: he was elected as a member and later became president of the Royal Academy of Painting, was knighted and received the Royal Victorian Order. True, the last award was presented at the end of the life of this outstanding draftsman, but he can hardly complain about his fate: to be successful and recognized by society and to create in a favorite manner - is this not the dream of any artist?
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