John Everett Millais

John Everett Millais's paintings include literary and religious narratives, portraits, and scenes of children and everyday life. His early Pre-Raphaelite works combine precise observation with carefully arranged expressions and gestures. Ophelia draws on Shakespeare, with individually recognizable riverbank plants, while Mariana uses costume, interior space, and a paused movement to form a literary scene. Later portraits and childhood subjects use broader brushwork than the exacting surfaces of his early work.