Lot Essay
Herbert studied at the Royal Academy from 1826-28, and began exhibiting there in 1830. Initially a portraitist and book illustrator, Herbert developed a taste for historical genre paintings after a visit to Italy in 1836. He greatly admired the architect Augustus. Pugin and, probably through his influence, converted to Catholicism in 1840, from which point his subject matter veered towards the Biblical. In 1842 William Dyce employed Herbert at the Schools of Design, at which time the two artists collaborated on a book of nursery rhymes. Both admired the Nazarenes, and were influenced by their interest in historical accuracy and use of bright color and strong outline.
The Procession of the Brides illustrates a scene recounted in "The Abduction of the Venetian Brides," the first chapter in Thomas Roscoe's Legends of Venice (1841) on which Herbert collaborated. Catholic marriage festivals took place in Venice as early as the 8th or 9th centuries. On the annual day of February 2, the feast of the Purification of the Virgin, the most beautiful and virtuous maidens from around Venice were chosen as brides of the state to be married to local gentlemen. The Doge and other attendants would accompany the brides in a procession down the Grand Canal to a church on the island of Olivolo. There, awaited by their bridegrooms and surrounded by throngs of spectators, they were blessed at mass, married, and escorted to a lavish feast. In the year 944, however, legend tells that Istrian pirates waited on the islands and waterways surrounding Olivolo to abduct the brides; after a fierce battle, all of the pirates were slain and the brides were returned to their grooms. The Doge thereby appointed an annual carnival of 8 days, known as Ludi Mariani or the Marian Games. The marriage festival continued, and from thence forward the brides were known as Marie.
Herbert's picture shows the brides floating down the Grand Canal, each holding their dowry box. The front of the gondola bears a scene of the kidnapping which led to the creation of the Ludi Mariani festival, and the entire procession pays homage to the Virgin, whose image is painted on the full sail. The choice of subject matter reflects not only Herbert's regard for Italian genre subjects, but also his desire to promote Roman Catholcism and his view, shaped by Pugin, of the moral superiority of the medieval age.
The Procession of the Brides illustrates a scene recounted in "The Abduction of the Venetian Brides," the first chapter in Thomas Roscoe's Legends of Venice (1841) on which Herbert collaborated. Catholic marriage festivals took place in Venice as early as the 8th or 9th centuries. On the annual day of February 2, the feast of the Purification of the Virgin, the most beautiful and virtuous maidens from around Venice were chosen as brides of the state to be married to local gentlemen. The Doge and other attendants would accompany the brides in a procession down the Grand Canal to a church on the island of Olivolo. There, awaited by their bridegrooms and surrounded by throngs of spectators, they were blessed at mass, married, and escorted to a lavish feast. In the year 944, however, legend tells that Istrian pirates waited on the islands and waterways surrounding Olivolo to abduct the brides; after a fierce battle, all of the pirates were slain and the brides were returned to their grooms. The Doge thereby appointed an annual carnival of 8 days, known as Ludi Mariani or the Marian Games. The marriage festival continued, and from thence forward the brides were known as Marie.
Herbert's picture shows the brides floating down the Grand Canal, each holding their dowry box. The front of the gondola bears a scene of the kidnapping which led to the creation of the Ludi Mariani festival, and the entire procession pays homage to the Virgin, whose image is painted on the full sail. The choice of subject matter reflects not only Herbert's regard for Italian genre subjects, but also his desire to promote Roman Catholcism and his view, shaped by Pugin, of the moral superiority of the medieval age.