Pre- Raphalite Movement
Introduction
Pre-Raphaelitism was a
countercultural movement that aimed to reform Victorian art and writing. It
originated in the in 1848 by a group of young British painters in reaction
against what they conceived to be the unimaginative and artificial
historical painting of the Royal Academy and who purportedly sought to
express a new moral seriousness and sincerity in their works. They were
inspired by Italian art of the 14th and 15th centuries, and their adoption of
the name Pre-Raphaelite expressed their admiration for the direct and
uncomplicated depiction of nature typical of Italian painting before the High
Renaissance and, particularly, before the time of Raphael.
The
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was by three Royal Academy students: Dante
Gabriel Rossetti, who was a gifted poet
as well as a painter, William
Holman Hunt, and John
Everett Millais, all under 25 years of
age. The principles that they followed in their art included rejecting
academicism, representing nature faithfully, and stressing the interconnections
between literature and painting. It was formed in response to the Royal
Academy. They found the Royal Academy to be shallow and uninspired and
drew their own inspiration from 14th and 15th century Italian art. The
Brotherhood set out to create to new and refreshing art for the modern age.
They challenged the contemporary conventions of art. The Brotherhood
paintings were like photo-realistic and even the lesser elements of the
painting such as those in the foreground were brilliant and lively. Thus they
began to produce highly convincing and significant works. Their pictures of
religious and medieval subjects strove to revive the deep religious feeling
The
style that Hunt and Millais evolved featured sharp and brilliant lighting, a
clear atmosphere, and a near-photographic reproduction of minute details.
Rossetti’s work differed from that of the others in its more arcane aesthetic and in the artist’s general lack of interest in copying
the precise appearance of objects in nature. Vitality and freshness of vision
are the most admirable qualities of these early Pre-Raphaelite paintings. their
work was harshly criticized by the novelist Charles
Dickens, among others, not only for its
disregard of academic ideals of beauty and also for not adhering to the
stringent standards of beauty of finer art . But they won the
important support of John Ruskin, who played an important role in promoting the
movement.
By
1854, the Brotherhood had gone their individual ways, but their style had a
wide influence and gained many followers during the 1850s and early ’60s. Although short-lived, the Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood’s ideas and members had a lasting
impact. Pre-Raphaelitism also became one of the dominant influences
on English literature from the 1850s to the end of the 19th century.
For your reference:
By 1854 the members of the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood had gone their individual ways, but their style had
a wide influence and gained many followers during the 1850s and early ’60s. In
the late 1850s Dante Gabriel Rossetti became associated with the younger
painters Edward
Burne-Jonesand William
Morris and moved closer to a sensual
and almost mystical romanticism. Millais, the most technically gifted painter
of the group, went on to become an academic success. Hunt alone pursued the
same style throughout most of his career and remained true to Pre-Raphaelite
principles. Pre-Raphaelitism in its later stage is epitomized by the paintings
of Burne-Jones, characterized by a jewel-toned palette, elegantly attenuated figures, and highly imaginative subjects and settings.
