Paper

Student Artwork Guide

Dark thoughts

Arthur Hughes

Name Class Date
Arthur Hughes, Dark thoughts. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Arthur Hughes topimpressionists.com/en/artists/arthur-hughes/
Artist’s dates
1832 – 1915
Movement
Pre-Raphaelites British painters returning to bright colour and sharp detail, rejecting everything taught after Raphael.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Arthur Hughes died in 1915; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1985.

Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

Dark thoughts — Arthur Hughes Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Dark thoughts — Arthur Hughes

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1830
  2. 1840
  3. 1850
  4. 1860
  5. 1870
  6. 1880
  7. 1890
  8. 1900
  9. 1910

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 83 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Arthur Hughes (1832–1915) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1856 Main working years: 1856–1872 Late works: from 1872

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Phthalo Green #242013

    Catalogued palette

    • #242013
    • #4E412C
    • #070704
    • #8A775F

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Main colour name
    Phthalo Green
    Intensity
    Monochromatic How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Serene How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Balanced Harmony How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Deep_shadow How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Muted How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Arthur Hughes over the last twelve months — 7 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 69.7%
    2. 2 United States of America 12.1%
    3. 3 Laos 6.1%
    4. 4 Spain 3.0%
    5. 5 Italy 3.0%
    6. 6 Japan 3.0%
    7. 7 Singapore 3.0%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Arthur Hughes

    1. 1 La Belle Dame Sans Merci, 1861 9.8%
    2. 2 A Music Party, 1861 7.3%
    3. 3 Phyllis 7.3%
    4. 4 The Eve of St Agnes, 1856 4.9%
    5. 5 April Love, 1855 4.9%
    6. 6 The Pained Heart (aka Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more'')'', 1867 4.9%
    7. 7 A Birthday Picnic 4.9%
    8. 8 Benedick in the Arbor 4.9%
    9. 9 Godrevy Light 4.9%
    10. 10 Wonderland (later version), 1912 2.4%
    11. 11 Ophelia (And will he not come again.'')'', 1863 2.4%
    12. 12 Overthrowing of the Rusty Knight, 1894 2.4%
    13. 13 the pained heart 2.4%
    14. 14 Good Night (later version), 1865 2.4%
    15. 15 The Sailing Signal Gun 2.4%
    16. 16 The Knight Of The Sun 2.4%
    17. 17 Mrs. Grant Duff and Adrian 2.4%
    18. 18 Dark thoughts this painting 2.4%
    19. 19 Caedmon's Awakening 2.4%
    20. 20 Asleep in the Woods 2.4%

    Together these works take 80.2% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 118 works by this artist, of which 28 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 18 of them, with 2.4% of that attention. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Dark thoughts — Arthur Hughes Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Arthur Hughes

    Born in Pimlico, United Kingdom

    early life and training

    arthur hughes, a british painter and illustrator associated with the pre-raphaelite brotherhood, was born in london on january 27, 1832. in 1846, he entered the art school at somerset house, where his first master was alfred stevens. later, he attended the royal academy schools, where he met john everett millais and holman hunt, becoming a part of the pre-raphaelite group of painters.

    notable works and style

    hughes' first picture, musidora, was exhibited at the royal academy when he was just 17. he continued to contribute to the royal academy and later to the grosvenor and new gallery exhibitions almost annually. his best-known works include april love and the long engagement, which depict troubled couples contemplating the transience of love and beauty, inspired by john everett millais's earlier "couple" paintings.

    personal life and legacy

    in 1855, hughes married tryphena foord, who was his model for april love. he died in kew green, london, on december 22, 1915, leaving behind approximately 700 known paintings and drawings, along with over 750 book illustrations. his daughter, emily, had to destroy his preparatory sketches and private papers due to a shortage of space after her mother's death in 1921.

    artistic style and influences

    magical, glowing coloring and delicate draughtsmanship characterize hughes' works. he was also influenced by the writer george macdonald, for whom he illustrated some books, and produced numerous illustrations for norman macleod's monthly magazine, good words.

    view more of arthur hughes' artworks on AllPaintingsStore

    read more about arthur hughes on wikipedia

    explore the timeline of art movements to understand the context of pre-raphaelite art

    key works and exhibitions

    - april love, 1855 (exhibited at grosvenor gallery) - the long engagement, 1862 (exhibited at new gallery) - musidora, 1849 (exhibited at the royal academy)

    notable museums and collections

    - toledo museum of art (features hughes' ophelia) - victoria and albert museum (holds several of hughes' illustrations)

    Where to read more

    • The artist Arthur Hughes topimpressionists.com/en/artists/arthur-hughes/
    • Similar works More works to compare topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Dark thoughts

    topimpressionists.com/en/art/download/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Hughes, Arthur. Dark thoughts. n.d., https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/
    APA
    Hughes, Arthur (n.d.). Dark thoughts [Painting]. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/
    Chicago
    Arthur Hughes. Dark thoughts. n.d. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/
    Harvard
    Hughes, Arthur (n.d.) Dark thoughts. Available at: https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-dark-thoughts-8DP2VE-en/

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Dark thoughts — Arthur Hughes Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Dark thoughts — Arthur Hughes

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: scenes, colour. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at April Love (1855), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Pre-Raphaelites: British painters returning to bright colour and sharp detail, rejecting everything taught after Raphael. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Dark thoughts — Arthur Hughes Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Does "Dark thoughts" have an augmented reality preview?

    The AR Preview page of "Dark thoughts" by Arthur Hughes uses augmented reality to show the artwork in your own space, on a compatible device.

    How do I download the image of "Dark thoughts" by Arthur Hughes?

    A download is available for "Dark thoughts": the artwork's Download page offers a high-resolution digital image download.

    Which artistic current is "Dark thoughts" by Arthur Hughes part of?

    "Dark thoughts" is a work of Pre-Raphaelites. The movement indicates the artistic tradition the work is part of.