William Holman Hunt, 'Rienzi vowing to obtain Justice for his Brother's Death', 1849

William Holman Hunt was one of the founders of a group of English painters called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The group was influenced by the bold colours, intricate compositions and complex messages of Italian fifteenth-century art. In the lower right of this painting, Hunt has added the initials PRB for Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

This is a scene from the life of Nicola Gabrini (1313–1354), known as Cola di Rienzo (or Rienzi). He was an Italian politician from Rome. In 1344 he led a revolt in Rome and declared himself its leader, the Tribune of Rome. He styled himself as the natural child of the Holy Roman Emperor. In fact, he was from a humble background. It was his revolt against an aristocratic elite, and his demands for the end of the powers of the Pope and for the reunification of Italy, that made him a liberal hero in the nineteenth century.

The painting is based on Rienzi, The Last of the Tribunes (1835), a novel by the British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It is dedicated to Alessandro Manzoni, the father of the historical novel in Italy. Rienzi is holding his fist to the sky. He is vowing revenge for the death of his brother whom he holds on his lap. During a skirmish with their enemies, the Orsini family, he has been killed accidentally by his allies, the Colonna. In Lytton’s novel, this moment puts Rienzi on the path that leads to him becoming the ruler of Rome.

Hunt started the picture in 1848. It was a year that saw largely unsuccessful revolutions across Europe. The family of Hunt’s friend and fellow artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, had fled from Naples because of their advocacy of Italian unification. In his memoirs, Hunt would claim that at this time he was inspired by the ideals of freedom against oppression that swept Europe. This painting, therefore, has a revolutionary message about the overthrow of tyranny and the power of people to decide their fate.

The futile death of this young man, and its inherent tragedy, is also a theme. Rienzi’s brother lies on his sword. The hilt points out of the painting towards the viewer. He has a garland of flowers around his wrist. Flowers held meanings for nineteenth-century artists. Hunt has included two flowers, a red anemone and a blue hyacinth, that were symbols of tragedy. Also in the bouquet are daisies, which symbolised innocence. The misery of the scene is emphasised by the mourning woman and children on the hill to the left.

The painting was also revolutionary in its creation. Hunt painted much of the landscape from nature, working out of doors on Hampstead Heath. Rienzi’s face is based on drawings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The knight on the far left is based on drawings of his brother, William Michael Rossetti. These both link the painting to ideals of Italian reunification as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.