(lively music) Dr. Harris: We're in Tate
Britain and we're looking at Henry Wallis' Chatterton from 1856. Dr. Zucker: Chatterton
was an 18th century writer who killed himself when he
was 17 years old with arsenic and that's what being depicted here. Dr. Harris: Chatterton
was a very popular figure among romantic writers. He was the misunderstood
genius who was exploited and underpaid for his craft. Dr. Zucker: Chatterton
would have a relatively, successful commercial career
as a writer in London. That's not to say that he was well paid but he was well published. Dr. Harris: When his account book
was looked at after his death, it turns out that Chatterton had been really underpaid for his writing. Dr. Zucker: But what's most
interesting is not so much the life of Chatterton, the subject but the treatment that Chatterton receives in the 19th century. Dr. Harris: I think that one
reason for his popularity among the romantics was this
idea of the misunderstood and underpaid artist
who I think many artists of the 19th century could relate to. Dr. Zucker: Let's take a
look at Wallis' treatment. You have that figure backlit. Light coming in from the
small window in this garret. A small attic like space
that would be let out to the less fortunate. Dr. Harris: And you can see outside, a view of Saint Paul's, the city of London where Chatterton lived. And then other signs of poverty. A small wooden table, a
very spare candleholder where the candle's been
completely burned down. You can just make out the smoke rising. Dr. Zucker: And of course,
there's symbolism there. The candle has burned down,
suggests the end of his life. Dr. Harris: We also see a rose
that has similar significance. It's dying there. Its petals are accumulating on the window. So, it doesn't have much longer. Dr. Zucker: But none
of this is generalized. All this is extraordinarily specific. The handling, the rendering is so much in the Pre-Raphaelite style. There is a strong linear
quality and particularity. Look for instance at the
vividness of the shadows cast by the knots on the bed spread. There is this recognition of the value of this precise handling
of the most seemingly, insignificant element of this room. Dr. Harris: We also see a lot of precision in the torn up writings
that we see on the left and the gleaming metal of
the latch of that trunk and the way that light just
shines slightly on the interior. Dr. Zucker: There's
also a very unusual use of color from mid-19th century painting. Look at his red hair
against the greenish cast of his skin or the way that
the artist is playing light and deep blues against the
purples in his breeches. Dr. Harris: And those
colors come alive even more because of that brown coverlet. Dr. Zucker: And the fact that Wallis, like other Pre-Raphaelites
is painting on white ground rather than painting on a dark ground. The painting is full of
specific anecdotes of the story. You can see down by his hand, not
only his shoe has been cast off but you can see the bottle of arsenic. Dr. Harris: And he's very
much in the pose of a pieta. So, we can really think
of him as an artist martyr like Christ Himself. I think that idea that it was
a difficult time for artists, is an important one. It's now the general public that is the audience and
the patron for artists and that put artists in a
really precarious position. Dr. Zucker: Well, this is interesting. Because in the history of art,
the patrons had been the church and then the aristocracy but here now, in our new industrial society,
art is one more commodity. And there was an interest
in what that meant for somebody who was a creative genius. (lively music)