Focus on The Rescue (painting) and explain the Exhibition and reception.
Millais regarded The Rescue as one of his greatest paintings, and chose it as his submission for the Royal Academy's 1855 exhibition. It was well-received by critics, who recognised the subject matter as startlingly modern for Millais. John Ruskin considered it "the only great picture exhibited this year; but this is very great. The immortal element is in it to the full."Robyn Cooper argues that some criticism of the painting arose from the fact that it depicted a virile working class man rescuing middle class children, while their father is nowhere to be seen. The mother's opened arms seem to greet this strong new man as much as her children.
John Ruskin Royal Academy