Representation and abstraction: looking at Millais and Newman


What’s “heroic” about a painting that looks like a craft project on HGTV? This comparison suggests an answer.

John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851–52 (Tate Britain, London) and Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimus, 1950–51 (The Museum of Modern Art, New York). Speakers: Sal Khan, Dr. Steven Zucker, and Dr. Beth Harris


Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:

[flickr_tags user_id=”82032880@N00″ tags=”ophelia,”]

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Cite this page as: Sal Khan, Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Representation and abstraction: looking at Millais and Newman," in Smarthistory, December 8, 2015, accessed March 19, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/representation-and-abstraction-looking-at-millais-and-newman/.