Victorian paintings

This selection of pictures from the collection of Guildhall Art Gallery illustrates many of the more popular themes and subjects in Victorian painting.

Among them are two observant views of contemporary London life by Tissot together with magnificent reconstructions of the ancient world by Poynter, Alma Tadema, Collier, Armitage and Godward; G F Watts and Albert Moore bring their own interpretation to classical themes. Pre-Raphaelite paintings include The Eve of St Agnes by Holman Hunt and La Ghirlandata by Rossetti, while The Wounded Cavalier by the otherwise little known William Shakespeare Burton and The Burgesses of Calais by Henry Holiday demonstrate the widespread influence of Pre-Raphaelitism and the popularity of historical and literary subject matter in Victorian England.