The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a secret society of seven English painters, poets, and art critics founded in 1848. The key figures of the movement were painters William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. They sought to challenge the academic art of the time, which they considered to be overly conventional and formulaic, particularly what they viewed as the corrupting influence of the High Renaissance artist Raphael and his followers. The name Pre-Raphaelite reflects their admiration for art produced before Raphael's time, specifically the detailed, emotionally sincere, and morally serious style of early Renaissance painters.
The Pre-Raphaelites are known for their commitment to realism and their depiction of historical, biblical, and mythological subjects with a high degree of detail. Their art is characterized by vibrant, jewel-toned colors and a meticulous rendering of nature. A significant portion of their work focused on literary themes, especially Arthurian legends and the poetry of figures like Keats and Tennyson. A central motif was the portrayal of beautiful, idealized women, often imbued with a sense of tragedy or longing. The Brotherhood disbanded in the early 1850s, but the Pre-Raphaelite style and its influence persisted throughout the late 19th century, evolving into the second phase of the movement with artists like Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. This second phase emphasized decorative arts and led to the founding of the Arts and Crafts movement.
History[]
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in London in 1848 by seven young men: painters William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti; Rossetti’s brother, William Michael Rossetti; sculptor Thomas Woolner; and painters James Collinson and Frederic George Stephens. They formed the group as a reaction against the Royal Academy of Arts' promotion of Raphael's work and the academic traditions that followed him, which they believed had led to a decline in artistic sincerity and direct observation of nature. The group aimed to return to the detail and vibrant colors of Quattrocento art, a period they considered to be purer and more truthful.
Christ in the House of his Parents by John Everett Millais (1850). This painting, criticized for its realistic depiction of the Holy Family, provoked a public scandal that contributed to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's decline as a formal group.
The Brotherhood began exhibiting their work in 1849, intentionally signing their paintings with the monogram "PRB" to keep their society secret. They published a literary journal, The Germ, to share their ideas, which combined their artistic philosophy with poetry and essays. However, their anonymity was short-lived, and a wave of public and critical backlash erupted in 1850. The criticism was largely directed at John Everett Millais' painting, Christ in the House of His Parents, which depicted the Holy Family in a realistic, un-idealized setting. Influential author Charles Dickens famously condemned the painting, describing the figures as ugly and blasphemous. This controversy deeply impacted the group, and by 1853, the Brotherhood had effectively dissolved as a formal entity.
Despite the formal dissolution, the aesthetic and philosophical principles of the Pre-Raphaelite movement continued to influence a second generation of artists, including Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. This later phase expanded the movement beyond painting to encompass the decorative arts, ultimately giving rise to the Arts and Crafts movement. The term "Pre-Raphaelite" thus continued to be used for a broader group of artists and a longer period than the Brotherhood's short existence.
Legacy and Influence[]
The legacy of the Pre-Raphaelite movement extended far beyond the dissolution of the Brotherhood itself, influencing late 19th and early 20th-century art. The movement's emphasis on sincerity, detail, and a return to nature became a foundation for the Aesthetic movement, which prioritized beauty for its own sake. Artists like Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, who were part of the later Pre-Raphaelite circle, were central to this transition.
The Pre-Raphaelites also played a critical role in the development of the Arts and Crafts movement. William Morris, inspired by the Brotherhood's medievalist themes and their rejection of industrial mass production, founded a company to produce handcrafted furniture, textiles, and decorative items. He advocated for a revival of traditional craftsmanship, a direct response to the era's growing industrialism, and his work directly stemmed from the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic.
The influence of the Pre-Raphaelites can also be seen in later art forms and media. Their romantic depictions of Arthurian legends and medieval tales inspired writers and illustrators for decades. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic of dreamy, languid women and naturalistic, fantastical settings has been reinterpreted in fantasy art, fashion photography, and popular culture, particularly in works that evoke a sense of Victorian romanticism and mythology.
Pre-Raphaelite Women[]
Women played a significant role in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, serving as muses, models, and artists in their own right. Their distinct physical features (long, flowing red hair, pale skin, and an ethereal quality) came to define the aesthetic of the Pre-Raphaelite female ideal.
Elizabeth Siddal, a poet, artist, and the wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, is one of the most iconic figures of the movement. Discovered by Walter Deverell while working in a milliner's shop, she became the primary model for many Pre-Raphaelite artists, most famously posing for John Everett Millais's Ophelia (1851-1852). Siddal was a talented artist herself, producing drawings and watercolors, and her poetry was published posthumously by Rossetti. Her tragic life and early death from an overdose of laudanum cemented her status as a romantic and tragic muse.
Jane Morris, the wife of William Morris, became Dante Gabriel Rossetti's primary model and muse for the later half of his career. Known for her striking features, dark hair, and somber expression, she embodied a more mature and powerful form of the Pre-Raphaelite beauty. Her image is synonymous with Rossetti's later works, such as Proserpine (1874) and Astarte Syriaca (1877).
Other women, such as Fanny Cornforth, Annie Miller, and Christina Rossetti (Dante Gabriel's sister), also contributed to the movement. While Cornforth and Miller primarily served as models, Christina Rossetti was a celebrated poet whose work, like Goblin Market, shared themes and a medieval-inspired sensibility with the Pre-Raphaelite painters.
Artistic Style[]
The Pre-Raphaelite artistic style evolved considerably from its beginnings. The earliest phase of the movement, heavily influenced by early Renaissance and Gothic art, focused on a stark realism characterized by sharp detail and bright, clear colors. This early style aimed for a "truth to nature," meticulously rendering every element of a painting, from the textures of clothing to individual blades of grass. The artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood intentionally rejected the soft chiaroscuro and idealized forms of later Renaissance artists like Raphael, instead looking to earlier masters like Sandro Botticelli, whose popularity they helped to revive.
After the Brotherhood dissolved in the early 1850s, the style evolved in different directions. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, for example, moved away from the early emphasis on literal realism and began to focus on more symbolic and sensuous imagery. This led to the creation of the movement's iconic femme fatale figures, often depicted with long, flowing hair and an otherworldly, dreamy expression.
The later Pre-Raphaelite style, often associated with artists like Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, became more decorative and less concerned with minute detail. It embraced a more stylized form of medievalism and drew inspiration from the Aesthetic movement, prioritizing beauty and art for art's sake. The visual hallmarks of the entire movement, however, remained the use of striking, jewel-toned colors and highly detailed, luminous depictions of nature, used to create emotionally intense and visually rich scenes.
Philosophy[]
The philosophy of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded on four core principles outlined by William Michael Rossetti. First, they sought to have genuine ideas to express, advocating for art with purpose and meaning beyond mere technical skill. Second, they aimed to study nature attentively to learn how to express these ideas, rejecting what they saw as formulaic academic conventions in favor of direct observation. Third, they championed sympathy with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, believing that art before Raphael's time possessed a sincerity that later art had lost. Finally, they sought to eliminate all that is conventional and self-parodying in contemporary art, opposing the rigid styles and compositions taught at the Royal Academy.
Central to their philosophy was a commitment to moral seriousness and truth to nature. The artists believed that by rendering scenes from literature, mythology, and religion with meticulous detail and emotional honesty, they could create art that was both beautiful and morally uplifting. They saw their work as a spiritual and ethical endeavor, a stark contrast to the more detached, purely aesthetic approach of their predecessors. This earnestness was often expressed through their detailed rendering of natural landscapes and their focus on emotional narratives, which gave their paintings a sense of heightened reality.
Gallery[]
