The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
1848-1854
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was an artistic movement begun by Dante
Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais; believing
that art produced since Raphael (1483-1520) was dull, empty, and overdone,
they found inspiration from Italian masters and the pre-Renaissance period.
They took many of their subjects from literature (particularly from the
Romantics and Tennyson), nature, and real life; used vibrant colors; experimented
with light and shadow; created extraordinary detail; and sought to infuse
their works with "moral seriousness." Rebels against the excesses and abuses
of the art of their day, they claimed to strive for the betterment of society
through art and were aided considerably by the criticism of John Ruskin.
Other artists joined the Brotherhood, and many, though not members, were
influenced by the Brotherhood's style.
After the dissolution of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Rossetti joined
with William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones to form the Aesthetic Movement,
which sought to extend the ideals of the PRB to furniture, architecture,
decorative arts, interior decoration, and book design. This philosophy
illustrates, perhaps, the first widespread interdisciplinarian approach
to the creative arts.
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