The Pre-Raphaelite Movement
Started: 1848
Ended: 1890
KEY ARTISTS
 | Dante Gabriel Rossetti Quick View  Artist Page |
| Dante Gabriel Rossetti |  |
| Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, and painter who cofounded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Rossetti was famous for his paintings of medieval subjects, nature, and women, and his relationships with the models who sat for them. Art Story: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Artist Page | ||
 | William Holman Hunt Quick View Artist Page |
| William Holman Hunt | |
| William Holman Hunt was an English painter that co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His works are distinguished by their attention to detail, vibrant colors, and elaborate symbolism. Art Story: William Holman Hunt Artist Page | ||
 | John Everett Millais Quick View Further External Info  |
| John Everett Millais | |
| John Millais Everett was an English painter and illustrator, remembered as one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. One of the most successful members of the group, Millais's works are distinguished by their dedication to realism, which he developed to new heights. This practice earned Millais both acclaim and a reputation for scandal because of his realistic depiction of relious figures. Further External Info | ||
 | William Morris Quick View Artist Page |
| William Morris | |
| William Morris was an English textile designer, writer, and social activist who was the father of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Art Story: William Morris Artist Page | ||
 | Edward Burne-Jones Quick View Further External Info |
| Edward Burne-Jones | |
| A Pre-Raphaelite movement artist, Edward Durne-Jones is most famous for his work with stained glass. His paintings closely followed the style of other Pre-Raphaelites and artists of the Aesthetic movement. Further External Info | ||
 | Julia Margaret Cameron Quick View Artist Page |
| Julia Margaret Cameron | |
| Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer and one of the few female practicioners of the Pre-Raphaelite tradition. Art Story: Julia Margaret Cameron Artist Page | ||
"We sympathise with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, to the exclusion of what is conventional and self-parading and learned by rote"
Summary of The Pre-Raphaelite Movement
The Pre-Raphaelites opposed the dominance of the British Royal Academy, which championed a narrow range of idealized or moral subjects and conventional definitions of beauty drawn from the early Italian Renaissance and Classical art. In contrast, the Pre-Raphaelites took inspiration from an earlier (pre-Raphaelite - before the artist Raphael) period, that is, the centuries preceding the High Renaissance. They believed painters before the Renaissance provided a model for depicting nature and the human body realistically, rather than idealistically, and that collective guilds of medieval craftspeople offered an alternative vision of artistic community to mid-19th-century academic approaches.
Key Ideas
"Beauty without the beloved is like a sword through the heart," Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote. His emphasis upon ideal female beauty made him a maverick among the Pre-Raphaelites.
Important Art and Artists of The Pre-Raphaelite Movement | |
  | The Girlhood of Mary Virgin (1848-9)Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Artwork description & Analysis: This painting by Rossetti was the first Pre-Raphaelite work to appear in public. It featured the secretive initials "PRB," indicating that the artist was a member of the newly established Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In the painting, the Virgin Mary appears at home with her mother, St. Anne, and an angel, while her father tends the garden outside the window. Oil on canvas - Tate, London |
 | Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation) (1849-50)Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Artwork description & Analysis: Rossetti's painting of the Annunciation is still mystifying viewers in the 21st century. The angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary of her impending miraculous pregnancy is one of the most familiar and popular subjects in religious art, but Rossetti's interpretation of the moment is utterly singular and was criticized for its realism when it was first exhibited. Oil on canvas - Tate, London |
 | Ophelia (1851-2)Artist: John Everett Millais Artwork description & Analysis: Ophelia is arguably both John Everett Millais' masterpiece and the most iconic work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Painted when he was only 22 years old, Millais worked for months in the open air in the countryside, composing the background with painstaking detail. In addition to flowers and boughs, Millais included reeds, the muddy bank, and a water rat. Oil on canvas - Tate, London |
More The Pre-Raphaelite Movement Artwork and Analysis:
Content compiled and written by Anna Souter
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
" Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. . TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by Anna Souter
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
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First published on 29 Jan 2019. Updated and modified regularly. 
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