The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Index

The term Pre-Raphaelite

The fondation of the Pre Raphaelite movement

The Second Stage of the Movement: Aesthetic Pre Raphaelitism

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Ecce Ancilla Domini

John Everett Millais

William Holman Hunt

The term pre raphaelite The term Pre-Raphaelite, which refers to both art and literature, is confusing because there were essentially two different and almost opposed movements, the second of which grew out of the first. The term itself originated in relation to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an influential group of mid-nineteenth-century avante garde painters associated with Ruskin who had great effect upon British, American, and European art. Those poets who had some connection with these artists and whose work presumably shares the characteristics of their art include Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, George Meredith, William Morris, and Algernon Charles Swinburne.

The foundation of the Pre- Raphaelite movement

The movement began at the end of the 1840’s as an attemp to introduce in visual art not only qualities of medieval italian painting but a concern with naturalistic accuracy on detail. The movement was founded by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millias .The Pre-Raphaelites have the objective to revive the customs of an imaginary past and nostalgic, trying also to unite together the concepts of life, art, and beauty. Inspired by the paintings of the Renaissance and medieval painters Pre-Raphaelite Brotherwood reproduced, figures drawn, bright and art-inspired neo-romantic. Their paintings are often reminiscent, and are generally symbolic and allegorical references. Most of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherwood paintings depicting female subjects sensual and elegant.

The Second Stage of the Movement: Aesthetic Pre-

Raphaelitism

The second form of Pre-Raphaelitism, which grows out of the first under the direction of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, is Aesthetic Pre-Raphaelitism, and it in turn produced the Arts and Crafts Movement, modern functional design, and the Aesthetes and Decadents .Rossetti and his follower Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) emphasized themes of eroticized medievalism and pictorial techniques that produced moody atmosphere. This form of Pre-Raphaelitism has most relevance to poetry; for although the earlier combination of a realistic style with elaborate symbolism appears in a few poems, particularly those of the Rossettis, this second stage finally had the most influence upon literature. All the poets associated with Pre-Raphaelitism draw upon the poetic continuum that descends from Spenser through Keats.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Dante Gabriel Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882) was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. Rossetti's art was characterised by its sensuality and its medieval revivalism. His early poetry was influenced by John Keats. His later poetry was characterised by the complex interlinking of thought and feeling, especially in his sonnet sequence The House of Life. Poetry and image are interwave in Rossetti's work; he frequently wrote sonnets to accompany his pictures, spanning from The Girlhood of Mary Virgin (1849) and Astarte Syriaca (1877), while also creating art to illustrate poems such as "Goblin Market" by the celebrated poet Christina Rossetti, his sister.

From the beginning of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's formation in 1848, his pieces of art included subjects of noble or religious disposition. His aim was to communicate a message of "moral reform" through the style of their works, exhibiting a "truth to nature”. Specifically in Rossetti's "Hand and Soul," written in 1849, he displays his main character Chiaro as an artist with spiritual inclinations. One of his most important picture is “Ecce Ancilla Domini”

Ecce ancilla domini The picture of Rossetti, made in 1850, is a modern interpretation of one of the most common subjects of religious painting: The Annunciation. The picture is based on the white color that will stand out a few hints of color, the red stole on top, red hair and yellow halos, the blue tent behind the bed and for the sky. The iconographic elements present are the lily of the Annunciation, which appears in the hands of the archangel and on the red stole, and the dove symbol of the Holy Spirit. Mary has a thoughtful and sad attitude. the earthly sensuality of the image is charaterize by the figure of the archangel that here is a very clear virility, unlike what happened in the late Gothic paintings where the archangel took an aspect of indefinite sexuality.

John Everett MillaisSir John Everett Millais, was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood that was founded at his parents' house in London. Millais became the most famous exponent of the movement, his painting “Christ in the House of His Parents” (1850) generating considerable controversy. Millais's "Christ in the House of His Parents" (1850) was highly controversial because of its realistic portrayal of a working class Holy Family. Next works were also controversial, though less so. Millais achieved popular success with “A Huguenot” (1852), which depicts a young couple about to be separated because of religious conflicts. He repeated this theme in many later works. All these early works were painted with great attention to detail, often concentrating on the beauty and complexity of the natural world. In paintings such as Ophelia (1852) Millais created dense and elaborate pictorial surfaces based on the integration of naturalistic elements. This approach has been described as a kind of "pictorial eco-system".

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (1827-1910) was an English painter. He formed the Pre-Raphaelite movement in 1848, after meeting the poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Along with John Everett Millais they sought to revitalise art by emphasising the detailed observation of the natural world in a spirit of quasi-religious devotion to truth. This religious approach was influenced by the spiritual qualities of medieval art, in opposition to the alleged rationalism of the Renaissance embodied by Raphael Hunt's works were not initially successful, and were widely attacked in the art press for their alleged clumsiness and ugliness. He achieved some early note for his intensely naturalistic scenes of modern rural and urban life, such as “The Hireling Shepherd” and “The Awakening Conscience”. However, it was with his religious paintings that he became famous, initially “The Light of the World”. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour and elaborate symbolism. For.Out of all the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Hunt remained most true to their ideals throughout his career.