- In 1848, a group of seven young artists
at London's Royal Academy of Arts
rejected what they felt was an artificial
and mannered approach to painting.
They called themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood,
the name referring to their preference
for late medieval and Renaissance art
before the painter Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.
It wasn't that the group had
an unwarranted hatred of Raffaello,
they disliked the mechanical and highly stylized poses
of the subject matter of painting that succeeded him.
Hence, Pre-Raphaelite.
These artists, with founding members William Holman Hunt,
John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
adopted the idea of truth to nature to their work.
They advocated a return to the simplicity,
lack of sentimentality, and overly mannered style
found in medieval art.
Their goals were often vague and contradictory.
This was to be expected from a movement
made up of strong minded individuals
who sought to modernize art
by reviving the practices of the Middle Ages.
These were two ideas at odds with each other,
but that tension created a unique vision.
Flattened perspective, sharp outlines, bright colors,
and a high level of detail characterized their work.
They often chose religious subject matter,
but used a level of realism and detail that shocked people,
who felt religious stories deserved a more sacred approach.
A good example is John Everett Millais' depiction
of Jesus as a redheaded real child,
with Joseph and Mary as an ordinary labor class family.
The genius of this painting is the symbolism.
Joseph, a carpenter, is constructing a door
while Jesus has cut his hand on an exposed nail.
The combination of the cut hand
and Mary comforting her son
alludes to the crucifixion and stigmata.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was heavily criticized
by most of the public, including Charles Dickens,
who called Millais' painting, "the lowest depths
of what is mean, odious, repulsive, and revolting."
The Times described the Pre-Raphaelites as,
"Young upstarts who at best are guilty
of the vice of craving public notoriety
as they indulge themselves in ridiculous artistic conceit.
At worst, their method of painting is itself a vice,
a depraved and unnatural way of rejecting
Raphael's marvellous beauty."
In 1851 however, critic and Pre-Raphaelite patron,
John Ruskin, defended the painters.
For Ruskin, the Pre-Raphaelites were
young martyrs of the art world,
standing bravely against a hostile
and corrupt establishment.
Literature was as critical as fine art
to the Pre-Raphaelites.
Subjects from the Bible, medieval tales,
Arthurian legends, Chaucer, and Shakespeare,
often inspired the paintings.
One of the best known examples
is Millais' Ophelia, inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet.
The painting depicts a scene offstage,
the mad Ophelia has fallen into the river
from a tree overhanging it while gathering flowers.
She lies in the water singing songs,
unaware of her danger.
Her clothes trapping air have allowed her
to temporarily stay afloat,
but she eventually sinks.
To quote from Hamlet,
"Her garments, heavy with their drink,
pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay,
down to a muddy death."
It is a perfect mix of a return
to England's Shakespearean past,
a celebration of the organic and natural world,
and the fine detail of the Pre-Raphaelite style.
This painting is used often as a visual reference,
from a scene in Disney's Maleficent,
to Lars von Trier's Melancholia.
Ruskin continued to support the Pre-Raphaelites,
until he travelled with his wife Euphemia Chalmers Ruskin,
and John Everett Millais to Scotland.
The goal was for Millais to paint Ruskin's portrait,
but soon Millais and Ruskin's wife
were engaged in an affair.
Ruskin annulled his marriage,
and cut ties with the Pre-Raphaelites,
attacking Millais' work for the rest of his life.
This effectively ended the movement,
but the ideals of the Pre-Raphaelites,
as a protest against mass production in the Industrial Era,
and social equality, passed onto another group.
Their goal was to emphasize the unique qualities
and beauty of natural materials.
This inaugurated the arts and crafts movement.