Pears (soap) had so much success that Pears purchased the copyright to produce copies as advertisements for their soap products. They were made for shop counter displays in terracotta, plaster and metal. From the late 19th century, Pears soap was famous for its marketing, masterminded by Barratt. Its campaign using John Everett Millais's painting "Bubbles" continued over many decades. As with many other brands at the time, at the beginning of the 20th century Pears also used their product as a sign of the prevailing European concept of the "civilizing mission" of empire and trade, in which the soap stands for progress.
Autumn Leaves (painting) in "The Princess" (1847) may have influenced him: The apple held by the youngest girl at the right may allude to the loss of childhood innocence implied by reference to original sin and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. After a positive review from F.G. Stephens, Millais wrote to him that he had "intended the picture to awaken by its solemnity the deepest religious reflection. I chose the subject of burning leaves as most calculated to produce this feeling." Autumn Leaves (painting) Autumn Leaves (1856) is a painting by John Everett Millais exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856.