Hunt is one of the most famous English painters of religious subjects of modern times. Born in London and a member of the Royal Academy, he joined with D.G. Rossetti, J.E. Millais and a few other young painters in 1844 to form the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood. The aim of this group, to resist contemporary art tastes, was warmly defended by the essayist John Ruskin. Hunt went to Egypt and Palestine on several occasions to paint accurate backgrounds for biblical scenes.
His works include
- ‘The Scapegoat’
- ‘Triumph of the Innocents’
- ‘The Awakened Conscience’
- ‘Our Saviour Entering the Temple’
- ‘The Shadow of Death’, ‘Nazareth’
- ‘Christ Among the Doctors’
- ‘Shadow of the Cross’
- ‘Plains of Esdraelon’.
His best-known painting, The Light of the World’, hangs in Keble College, Oxford, but in 1904 he reproduced a life-sized copy for St Paul’s Cathedral (in the south aisle). Other works may be seen in the Tate Gallery.