Arthur Hacker and Lost Parasol

'Lost Parasol' (1902) by Arthur Hacker; Private Collection

I so love doing this blog! I had never heard of Pre-Raphaelite painter Arthur Hacker, born on 25 September 1858. I just discovered him and am happy to use him for this post. Hacker studied at the Royal Academy schools before going to Paris. There he studied under French painter Léon Bonnat who was well-known for his portraits and a friend of Edgar Degas. Hacker became a painter of portraits and historical and religious scenes. He also painted mythological and allegorical subjects. The Wikipedia page (click on author's name) mentions that Hacker is a Classicist painter but doesn't say anything about him being part of the Pre-Raphaelite circle. I think some of his paintings are very much in the Pre-Raphaelite style like The Temptation of Sir Percival or The Drone, and I found many mentions of him being a Pre-Raphaelite painter (click here for a list of Pre-Raphaelite painters). I chose today's painting because apart from portraits, I also like narrative paintings a lot. Looking at this lighthearted scene, it makes you wonder whether the woman will be able to retrieve the parasol without getting her feet wet and why the man in the background isn't helping her.