A discussion of the beginnings of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in art, the characters who made up this movement, and the creatives who inspired them.
"P.R.B." stands for "Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood". Operating from 1848 to 1853, this movement and those inspired by its style created some of the most memorable pieces of the nineteenth century. How did it start? Who was involved? What inspired them to begin this movement? Read on to explore these questions and more!
Author’s Note
This paper was one of two I submitted during a study abroad in England in 2004. This study abroad constituted both my first trip overseas and my first of three trips to (and subsequent love affair with) the UK. 😊 The sources originally used for this paper were restricted to books we found locally in the small library where we were staying. Sources for any works or paintings cited have been updated where possible (links included).
Members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
(This list constitutes the major contributors to the Brotherhood, but does not represent everyone connected to the movement).
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, painter
William Holman Hunt, painter
John Everett Millais, painter
James Collinson, painter
Frederic George Stephens, painter
Thomas Woolner, sculptor
William Michael Rossetti, P.R.B. secretary (also Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s brother)
P.R.B. Advocates
John William Waterhouse was not an official P.R.B. member but was known to embrace their style.
John Ruskin was a long-time supporter and advocate for the Brotherhood, often singing their praises in relevant media of the day.
Introduction
Love, purity, creativity. To the modern world, these seem to be quite common and usual, an everyday possibility for those who wish to explore them. For a few young minds at the turn of the nineteenth century, however, this was not the case. In the world of art, convention and tradition were their mottoes, a creed to “modern” expression of ideals. There were some, three to be exact, who stumbled upon the chance to stretch the imagination. A chance encounter with fate would thrust these artists and their labors of love onto the canvas of history.
The grand trio consisted of two college art students and one nearby admirer. Their names: John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rosetti. These names are now synonymous with Ophelia (1851-1852), The Light of the World (1851), and other famous expressions of beauty and purity. Their ideals of what art could do transcended the lines of the time. These young men became disillusioned and incurably bored with the monotonous style of their predecessors. Looking for a fresh approach to expressing their views, the trio went back to the paintings of Raphael. Everything created before his time in history exhibited something simple and majestic in their minds.
Millais, Hunt, and Rosetti were disgusted by what they perceived as a drawl of complacency found in current artistic motifs. Burning to see mankind improved, these artists came together to form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an organization similar to those installed at the Royal Academy at the time. The initials “P.R.B.”, with which the men signed most of their work, would ultimately prove to be their most eminent calling card to date, and bring a backlash that would be fought for years to come.
One commonly asked question among art lovers today is “What is Pre-Raphaelitism?”. The actual term “Pre-Raphaelite” was allegedly coined for both Hunt and Millais during an argument with other Academy students, specifically referring to “incongruities of form in Raphael’s Transfiguration” (Hardin, 1996, p. 23). Dante Rosetti’s brother, William Michael Rosetti, offered a clear definition of the term and the aim of those for which it was named. Their main endeavor was to find “unadulterated truth” in life through the study of nature stating that “minute study, however, such as the Pre-Raphaelite artists bestow on their renderings from nature cannot but result in the attainment of one order of truth” (Rosetti, Sambrook, 1974, p. 66).
This might explain why elements of nature dominate almost every work from this era. One such example is the afore-mentioned Ophelia (1851-1852) by John Everett Millais. In examining it carefully, one can see that though her death ended in tragedy and despair, the young heroine is still surrounded by the consistency of life found in nature. This is one central point that the Pre-Raphaelites hoped to convey in their work.
Sources of Inspiration and the Impact of Romanticism
There were four distinct sources from which the Pre-Raphaelites extracted their material. The first of these was real life on a personal level. Trials and errors experienced in the romantic arena are reflected in their work. They used close friends or family members as models on numerous occasions. Dante Rosetti was known to frequently ask Elizabeth Siddal, whom he would later marry, to sit for sketches and paintings in his studio (Marsh, 1996, pp. 67, 72).
The second source outlined in their work came from real life on a more objective level. Strong emotion, heightened features, and bold colors highlight these works inspired by the common plights of the everyday man. In their search for unmarred beauty, these artists created a stark sense of individuality for their subjects. Unfortunately, the public did not always readily accept their approaches. For instance, The Blind Girl (1854-1856) by Millais, depicts a scene between two young girls (presumably sisters). The older sister, a blind musician, holds a concertina in her lap. The younger looks intently at the scene around her. There is a sharp contrast in the representation of the senses, further accentuated by the brilliance of color from the skies and golden wheat.
This award-winning work almost didn’t get its recognition. John Ruskin, a mentor and defender of the P.R.B. from the beginning, now came to the rescue in a harrowing attempt to get his friend noticed. He argued that those who thought of the works of the P.R.B. as “rubbish” would think again once their value and acclaim started to climb. He concluded in a letter to a local newspaper that any “average” painting done by a P.R.B. founder was three times as valuable as a painting done by any other artist, subsequently naming John Lewis as a fourth founder of the P.R.B. (Hardin, 1996, p. 68).
The third source to be drawn upon was that of love and modern romance, specifically love as defined by the Romantics and Shakespeare. Additional influences included Gothic romance and the literary works of Chaucer, which described “brave men and beautiful women” (Hardin, 1996, p. 20). Works such as Hunt’s The Awakening Conscience (1853) introduce the viewer to the perils and triumphs of human love. The influences of Shakespeare show the prominence of this point. There are two distinctly different copies of Ophelia known to exist by two artists with similarity in style, but differences in perspective. The first, Ophelia (1851-1852) by Millais, shows the young maiden encased in her watery grave in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1601), a solemn reminder of love’s tragedies. The second, Ophelia (1894) by John William Waterhouse, has Ophelia sitting upright on a stone near the river, just before her death. Here her expression is just as solemn, in a seemingly reflective state. Similarities in choice of color and dress for the maiden show the artists’ apparent influences with one another. Other Shakespearean-inspired works include Lear and Cordelia (1849-1854) by P.R.B. artist Ford Maddox Brown, in which the king is seen mourning over his daughter’s untimely death (Marsh, 57, 98).
Another aspect of Romanticism that they chose to express was the harmony and beauty of nature. They would later immortalize poets such as (Alfred) Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning with their creations on canvas. Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shalott (1832), provided the backdrop for Waterhouse to capture her on canvas as The Lady of Shalott (1888). Browning’s knowledge of Italian art later led to an exchange of ideas with members of the P.R.B. William Holman Hunt exhibits other examples of nature in his paintings. Our English Coasts (1852) and The Cornfield At Ewell (1849) show us just how much influence the prevalence to nature had on the artists of this era. Little human content is displayed, allowing for nature and animals to dominate each scene. Even though each craft seemed to be separated, each artisan managed to draw from another’s inspirations (Hardin, 1996, pp. 34-35, 46, 52, 59, 120-121).
The fourth and last source of inspiration came from inspiration itself. Expressing their religious beliefs and the common beliefs of the time provided yet another canvas on which the Pre-Raphaelites could create. Such works as Rosetti’s Ecce Ancilla Domini (The Annunciation) (1849-1850) and Hunt’s The Light of the World (1851) serve to remind the viewer of their spiritual beginnings. Hunt was very moved by his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Although struggling to find appropriate models for his work, he managed to come up with some very captivating pieces in the meantime. The Afterglow in Egypt (1861) depicts a likeness to the women in the country, one of which he encountered while on a midday walk in Cairo (Marsh, 91). Touched by cultural surroundings found in this historical site, Hunt painted The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple (1854-1855). This piece shows Christ, the Virgin, and the temple priests dressed in traditional Arabian garb, which is consistent with the area at the time. Hunt was not the only one of his Brothers to find subject matter in religion. Many of Millais’ works show a strong sacred influence. One example is found in Christ in the House of His Parents (1849-1850) (Hardin, 1996, p. 31). In this depiction, Christ is a young boy who has just pricked both of his hands. His parents, depicted as normal human beings, can be seen attending and caring for his wounds. This use of religious irony shows a strong sense of perspective on the part of the artist.
Conclusion
Throughout their careers, the founders and other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood managed to produce some of the most beautiful and thought-provoking work to date. Sadly, the P.R.B. disbanded in 1853, but their style and approach to their work have endured the test of time to inspire other artists and poets along the way. John Ruskin, their biggest supporter, would continue to commend their efforts long after their fame had worn off. Through battles, both private and public, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood has become an enduring example of self-expression at any cost.
References
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery. (n.d.). Pre-Raphaelite online resource. http://www.preraphaelites.org/
Hardin, Terri. (1996). The Pre-Raphaelites: Inspiration from the past. Twickenham: Tiger Books, Intl, PLC. https://archive.org/details/preraphaelitesin0000hard/mode/2up
Landow, G.P. (2019, May 19). Pre-Raphaelites: An introduction. http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/prb/1.html
Marsh, Jan. (1996). The Pre-Raphaelites: Their lives in letters and diaries. London: Collins and Brown, Ltd.
Rosetti, W.M. (article written 1854, book published 1974). Pre-Raphaelitism. In James Sambrook (Ed.), Pre-Raphaelitism: A collection of critical essays (Patterns of literary criticism), (pp. 64-70). University of Chicago Press. https://archive.org/details/preraphaelitismc00samb/mode/2up
Ruskin, J. (1853, November 18). Lecture IV: Pre-Raphaelitism. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23593/23593-h/23593-h.htm#LECTURE_IV
This post was adapted from a paper submitted by Jayme Nelson for a course in The Humanities at West Texas A&M, Summer 2004. This course was taken in cooperation with Amarillo College as part of a study abroad program in England.
About the Author
Jayme Nelson holds a bachelor's degree in music education from West Texas A&M University and a master's degree in library science from Texas Woman's University, with a focus in archives and special collections. She plays bassoon in the Austin Symphonic Band and serves as a collections volunteer at the Austin History Center, a local city archive. As part of her graduate studies, she recently helped to draft a collection development policy for the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History in Austin, TX.
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