John Everett Millais - The Lost Piece of Silver (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), 1864

 

John Everett Millais - The Lost Piece of Silver (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), 1864

It took Millais seven years to design twenty images inspired by New Testament Parables for the Dalziel Brothers, and the resulting prints are considered pinnacles of wood engraved illustration. The artist wrote to his publishers, "I can do ordinary drawings as quickly as most men, but these designs can scarcely be regarded in the same light—each Parable I illustrate perhaps a dozen times before I fix [the image]." After completing a design, Millais transferred it to a woodblock coated with Chinese white for skilled engravers to carve. Finally, he reviewed proofs and final adjustments were made before the final printing. The Parable of the Lost Piece of Sliver (Luke:15:8-10), tells of a woman with ten coins who loses one, then diligently searches for it. Pre-Raphaelite ideals shaped the combination of detailed naturalism and down-to-earth imagery to produce a work distinctly different than most religious art of the period.