But they didn’t want to talk about Artist.
BBC Documentary: They wanted to show what reality was.
Victorians: Home sweet home
Victorian artist loved painting domestic themes. There are paintings that show life in the Victorians’ houses like it should be with a married man (Happy family all together). The woman was known as the Angel in the house. But look in her eyes.
Other artists painted what happened when things were wrong. Poverty, disease, the guilt but the evil of drink, the shame of illicit sex, all the things that destroyed the proverb: Home sweet home. Some artists painted Queen Victoria’s life in an idealistic way (she was conscious, represented as a beautiful mother and a dark-repulsive wife), so Victorians wanted to imitate her side of life. But in society temptation was everywhere. Prostitution was common in domestic life.
Many happy returns of the day – William Powell Frith
In London in 1857, there was 1 prostitute for every 25 men, and most of them were married. Because of this, sexual transmission of disease was common, and lots of wives were infected. In many Victorian cities, anatomical museums provided the public with the effects of illicit sex.
There were wax masks that showed Victorians’ common diseases (syphilis, sores on skin).
The family formed one community, the staff another (in a gentleman’s house).
Governess and servants need the Book of Household Management, a sort of bible for them (to be a perfect domestic).
Separation of the classes (servants in a particular area and the family in a politer area).
Keeping up appearances was what it was all about. Rich families commissioned men and women paintings to tell that they were upright, content and respectable.
Men and women had separated rooms (the billiard room was for male only). For the common places they had different accesses. Everyone had his own place in a Victorian home.
A happy family life, the public loved it. Pictures like this show how wonderful life in the Victorian home was.
Also the Governess, responsible for children’s education, better paid than servants.
But these pictures were lies. Home sweet home was just a dream. Respectable man with wife and children, have mistress and sometimes other illegitimate children in another house to not let his wife suspect something. Keeping a mistress wasn’t unusual. Everyone knew what happened.
Victorian domestic life
Victorian artists loved painting domestic themes. There are paintings that show life in the Victorians’ houses like it should be: happy family all together. The woman was known as the Angel in the house. But other artists painted what happened when things were wrong: poverty, disease, the evil of drink, the shame of illicit sex, all the things that destroyed the proverb: Home sweet home. Some artists painted Queen Victoria’s life in an idealistic way; she was represented as a beautiful mother and a wife, so Victorians wanted to imitate her life. But in society temptation was everywhere.
Governesses and servants needed the Book of Household Management, a sort of bible for them, to be perfect domestics.
Keeping up appearances was what it was all about. Rich families commissioned paintings to tell that they were upright, content and respectable.
Happy family life: the public loved it. Pictures like this show how wonderful life was in the Victorian home.
But these pictures were lies. Home sweet home was just a dream. Respectable men with wives and children had mistresses and sometimes other illegitimate children in another house, so they did not let their wives suspect something. Keeping a mistress wasn’t unusual. Everyone knew what happened, but they didn’t want to talk about it. Artists wanted to show what reality was.
The darker side of domestic life
A married man with his mistress. The look in her eyes shows guilt, but the face of the man shows only joy, no conscience: the dark, repulsive side of domestic life. Prostitution was common.
In London in 1857, there was 1 prostitute for every 25 men, and most of them were married. Because of this, sexual transmission of disease was common, and lots of wives were infected. In many Victorian cities, anatomical museums provided the public with the effects of illicit sex. There were wax masks that showed common Victorian diseases.
- Syphilis
- Sores on skin
Class and space in the Victorian home
The family formed one community; the staff, another, in a gentleman’s house.
There was separation of the classes: servants in a particular area and the family in a politer area.
Men and women had separate rooms. The billiard room was for males only. For the common places, they had different accesses. Everyone had his own place in a Victorian home.
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