The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

William Holman Hunt: The Artist and His Era

William Holman Hunt (1827–1910) stands as a pivotal figure in 19th-century British art, renowned as one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Established in 1848 alongside Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais, the Brotherhood sought to reject the academic conventions of their time by drawing inspiration from medieval art and an intense commitment to naturalistic detail. Hunt, in particular, became known for his meticulous technique, moral seriousness, and an earnest engagement with religious themes.

Hunt’s work reflects the Victorian era's complex relationship with faith, morality, and industrial modernity. In a period marked by upheaval and rapid change, his paintings wrestle with spiritual anxieties and seek to reinspire a sense of devotion in an increasingly secular age.

Historical Context of "The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things"

Painted in 1848–49, The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things emerges at a formative moment for both Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelites. This period was one of renewed interest in medieval Christian symbolism and a reaction against the perceived superficiality of contemporary academic art. Hunt’s adoption of oil on wood as a medium for this intensive subject situates the work in dialogue with early Renaissance painting traditions, especially those associated with Northern European panel painting.

The mid-19th century witnessed both spiritual revivalist movements and fierce debates about the place of religion in public and private life. Hunt’s painting participates in these conversations, using visual art as a means to probe human morality and mortality.

Religious and Cultural Significance

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things draws upon centuries-old Christian teachings. The Seven Deadly Sins—pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust—function in Catholic theology as archetypes of human vice. The Four Last Things—Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell—represent the ultimate destinies awaiting every soul and were central to both medieval sermonizing and moral art.

By juxtaposing these weighty spiritual concepts, Hunt’s painting aligns with a tradition of religious didacticism. Such art aims to exhort the viewer toward self-reflection and repentance. The work invites contemplation not just of sin, but of the fate that awaits sinners—a vivid reminder of the seriousness with which Victorian society regarded the immortal soul.

Symbolism and Iconography

Hunt's composition employs a tightly structured arrangement, each sin and “last thing” visually personified and meticulously set within the pictorial space. The Seven Deadly Sins are often depicted as allegorical figures, with specific colors, gestures, and attributes designating their symbolic import:

• Pride, the root of all evil in Christian teaching, may be represented by a figure gazing into a mirror or displaying regal airs.
• Envy could be visualized as a figure glaring covetously at others’ possessions.
• Wrath might be shown in a posture of violence or aggressive confrontation.
• Sloth could be portrayed as reclining or indifferent, exuding lethargy.
• Avarice often clutches or hoards gold and treasures.
• Gluttony might be depicted feasting or surrounded by excess.
• Lust typically assumes a sensuous or seductive pose.

The Four Last Things adopt a more apocalyptic tone, often shown as:

• Death as a skeleton or with the traditional scythe.
• Judgment sometimes visualized with Christ or an angel beckoning the soul.
• Heaven portrayed with golden or celestial light.
• Hell as a scene of torment and darkness.

Each element is loaded with biblical and artistic precedent, creating a dense visual code for Victorian viewers well-versed in Christian symbolism.

Artistic Techniques and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision

Hunt’s use of oil on wood harks back to early Netherlandish and Italian Renaissance painting, a period revered by the Pre-Raphaelites for its sincerity and technical precision. Oil allows for a heightened luminosity and layering of colors, which Hunt exploits to achieve intense clarity and naturalism in every detail.

True to Pre-Raphaelite ideals, Hunt insists on laborious observation from the natural world, even when dealing with allegorical themes. His paint handling is characterized by fine brushwork and an unflinching attention to texture, whether in the rendering of flesh, fabric, or landscape background.

Moreover, Hunt employs a flattened perspective and tightly rendered detail reminiscent of the late Middle Ages, reinforcing the painting’s connection to devotional art. The intense color palette, balancing lush reds and greens with stark darks and golds, injects emotional and spiritual significance into the scene.

Cultural Impact

While The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things may not enjoy the same level of public recognition as some of Hunt’s later masterpieces, its thematic audacity and technical rigor made it influential within both the Brotherhood and the wider Victorian art world. The painting epitomizes the Pre-Raphaelite practice of using visual art as a platform for moral instruction and spiritual reflection.

Many later Victorian painters and illustrators would draw on Hunt’s example, returning to medieval sources and religious allegory in their own engagements with modern anxieties. For audiences then and now, the work acts as both a mirror and a warning—provoking individual moral reckoning and communal debate about the ultimate truths underlying daily existence.

Sources

• Treuherz, Julian. Pre-Raphaelite Paintings from Manchester City Art Galleries. Manchester University Press, 1993.
• Bronkhurst, Judith. William Holman Hunt: A Catalogue Raisonné. Yale University Press, 2006.
• Landow, George P. “William Holman Hunt and Typological Symbolism.” Victorian Web, victorianweb.org.
• Tate Gallery. "The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things by William Holman Hunt." Tate.org.uk.
• Prettejohn, Elizabeth. The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites. Princeton University Press, 2000.