Victorian Artist John Brett

John Brett

John Brett (1831 – 1902). British.

Known for his highly detailed landscapes and influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement, John Brett studied under James Duffield Harding and Richard Redgrave before joining the Royal Academy in 1853.

Inspired by Pre-Raphaelite ideals on scientific landscape painting he visited Switzerland in 1858 where he painted The Val d’Aosta (below).

The “Stonebreaker” became his most celebrated work, depicting a young boy smashing stones in a brightly-lit and highly detailed landscape. Embodying a moral message about child labor, the Stonebreaker was lauded by famed art critic John Ruskin.

Travelling the Mediterranean during the 1860s, Brett painted many landscapes with scientific precision.

In the 1870s and 1880s, he painted scenes of Cornwall, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight, and most notably the coastline of Wales.

John Brett Val d'Aosta 1858
Val d’Aosta 1858
John Brett - The Stonebreaker, 1858
John Brett – The Stonebreaker, 1858
John Brett - Near Sorrento, 1863
Near Sorrento, 1863
Brett, John - Massa, Bay of Naples, 1864
Massa, Bay of Naples, 1864
John Brett - February in the Isle of Wight, 1866
John Brett – February in the Isle of Wight, 1866
Net Day at St. Ives by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. - 1872
Net Day at St. Ives by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. – 1872
View on the Beach at St. Agnes by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. (1873)
View on the Beach at St. Agnes by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. (1873)
St. Ives by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. - 1872
St. Ives by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. – 1872
John Brett - Southern Coast of Guernsey, 1875
John Brett – Southern Coast of Guernsey, 1875
John Brett - Caernarvon, 1875
John Brett – Caernarvon, 1875
St Ives Bay by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. (1878)
St Ives Bay by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. (1878)
Porth Gwarra by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. - 1880
Porth Gwarra by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. – 1880
Summer Mists off Tol Pedn by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. - 1880
Summer Mists off Tol Pedn by John Edward Brett, A.R.A. – 1880
John Brett - Man of War Rocks, Coast of Dorset, 1884
John Brett – Man of War Rocks, Coast of Dorset, 1884
John Brett - Seascape, 1887
John Brett – Seascape, 1887
John Brett - A North-West Gale off the Longships Lighthouse, 1902
John Brett – A North-West Gale off the Longships Lighthouse, 1902