From the 1850s, a new trend in poetry and painting began to develop in England. It is called the "Pre-Raphaelites." This article presents the main ideas of the artistic community, the themes of creative activity, paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites with names.
Who are the Pre-Raphaelites?
Trying to get away from the annoying academic traditions and realistic aesthetics of the Victorian era, a group of artists created their own direction in art. It penetrated almost all spheres of life, formed the peculiarities of behavior and communication of its creators. And the direction of art, and its representatives, painters bore the same name - the Pre-Raphaelites. Their paintings showed spiritual kinship with the early Renaissance. Actually, the name of the fraternity speaks for itself. The painters were interested in the artists who worked until the heyday of Raphael and Michelangelo. Among them are Bellini, Perugino, Angelico.
The direction developed during the second half of the 19th century.
Occurrence
Until the 1850s, all English art was under the wing of the Royal Academy of Arts. Its president, Sir Joshua Reynolds, like any other representative of the official institution, was reluctant to accept innovations and did not encourage the experiments of his students.
In the end, such a close framework forced several painters with similar views on art as a whole to unite in a fraternity. His first representatives were Holman Hunt and Dante Rossetti. They met at the exhibition at the academy and during the conversation realized that their views were largely similar.
Rossetti painted the picture “Youth of the Virgin Mary” at this time, and Hunt helped him complete it, not by deed, but by word. Already in 1849, the canvas was on display at the exhibition. Young people agreed that modern English painting is not going through the best period in its history. In order to somehow revive this type of art, it was necessary to return to pre-academic sources, to simplicity and sensuality.
Key Representatives
Initially, the Pre-Raphaelite fraternity, whose paintings breathed new life into British culture, consisted of seven people.
1. Holman Hunt. Lived a long life, remaining true to his views on art until his death. He became the author of several publications that describe the members of the fraternity and describe the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites. Among the famous paintings of the painter himself - "The Shadow of Death" (a religious painting depicting Jesus), "Isabella and the Pot with Basil" (based on a poem by John Keats), "The Scapegoat" (written on the basis of biblical tales).
2. John Millet. Known as the youngest student of the Academy of Arts, who later became its president. John after a long work in the style of the Pre-Raphaelites renounced the brotherhood. To feed his family, he began to paint portraits on order and excelled at that. The most noteworthy works are “Christ in the Parental Home” (a religious painting filled with symbols of the future life and death of Christ), “Ophelia” (written on the basis of the episode from “Hamlet”), “Soap Bubbles” (painting of the late period of creativity, became famous as an advertisement soap).
3. Dante Rossetti. The paintings are filled with the cult of beauty and eroticism of a woman. His wife Elizabeth became the main muse of the painter. Her death crippled Dante. He put all his manuscripts with verses in her coffin, but after a few years, having come to his senses, he achieved exhumation and took them from the grave. Famous works: “Blessed Beatrice” (Dante’s wife between life and death is depicted), “Proserpine” (the ancient Roman goddess with a pomegranate in her hands), “Veronica Veronese” (a symbolic canvas reflecting the creative process).
4. Michael Rossetti. Brother Dante, who also studied at the academy. But in the end, he chose the path of critic and writer for himself. The pictures of the Pre-Raphaelites were repeatedly subjected to its analysis. He was a biographer of his brother. He formulated the basic concepts of the direction.
5. Thomas Wulner. He was a sculptor and poet. In his early work, he supported the ideas of the Pre-Raphaelites, turned to nature and took into account minor details. He published his poems in the journal of the fraternity, but then moved away from their general ideas and concentrated on classical forms.
6. Frederick Stevens. Artist and art critic. Quite early, he became disappointed in his talent as a painter and focused on criticism. He considered it his mission to explain to the public the goals of the brotherhood and to glorify the pictures of the Pre-Raphaelites. Several of his paintings have survived: Marquis and Griselda, Mother and Child, Death of King Arthur.
7. James Collinson. He was a believer, so he painted paintings on religious subjects. He left the community after a picture of Millet in the press criticized and called blasphemous. Among his works are “The Holy Family”, “The Renunciation of Elizabeth of Hungary”, “Sisters”.
The Pre-Raphaelites, whose paintings aroused much controversy, had a number of like-minded people. They did not enter into the fraternity, but adhered to the basic ideas. Among them are artist L. Alma-Tadema, designer F.M. Brown, painter W. Deverell, embroiderer M. Morris, illustrator A. Hughes and others.
Initial criticism
Initially, the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites were greeted by critics quite warmly. They were like a breath of fresh air. However, the situation became tense after the presentation in the light of several religious paintings painted in accordance with the canons.
In particular, the painting "Christ in the parental home" by Millet. The canvas depicts an ascetic setting, a barn, near which a flock of sheep grazes. The Virgin Mary is kneeling before little Jesus, who injured his palm with a nail. Millet filled this picture with symbols. A bleeding hand is a sign of the future crucifixion, a bowl of water carried by John the Baptist is a symbol of the Baptism of the Lord, a dove sitting on the stairs is identified with the Holy Spirit, a sheep with an innocent sacrifice.
Critics called this picture blasphemous. The Times newspaper dubbed the painting a riot in art. Others, pointing to a comparison of the holy family with common people, characterized Millet's work as outrageous and disgusting.
Rossetti's painting The Annunciation was also attacked. The painter departed from the biblical canons, dressing the Virgin in white clothes. On the canvas she is depicted scared. The critic F. Stone compared the work of the Pre-Raphaelites with useless archeology.
Who knows what the fate of the brotherhood would have been if the critic John Ruskin had not come out on his side, whose opinion was considered by everyone.
The influence of an authoritative person
John Ruskin was an art historian and wrote more than one scientific work before becoming acquainted with the work of the Pre-Raphaelites. What was his surprise when he realized that all the thoughts and ideas reflected in his articles found their place on the canvases of the fraternity.
Ruskin advocated penetration into the essence of nature, attention to detail, removal from imposed canons and depicting scenes as they should be. All this included the Pre-Raphaelite program.
The critic wrote several articles for The Times, where he praised the work of artists. He bought some of their paintings, supporting the creators both morally and financially. Ruskin liked the new and unusual way of writing oil paintings. The Pre-Raphaelites subsequently created several portraits of their protector and patron.
Subjects of paintings
Initially, artists turned exclusively to gospel stories, focusing on the experience of the creators of the early Renaissance. They did not seek to fulfill the picture according to church canons. The main goal was to transfer philosophical thought to the canvas. That is why the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites are so detailed and symbolic.
The "Youth of the Virgin Mary" by Rossetti was fully consistent with the needs of the Victorian era. She depicted a modest girl under the supervision of her mother. Usually she was portrayed reading, Dante put a needle in the hands of the Virgin. She embroidered a lily on the canvas - a symbol of purity and purity. Three flowers on a stalk - Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Leaves of palm trees and thorns with thorns - the joys and sorrows of Mary. There are no meaningless objects, colors and actions in the picture - everything is intended to indicate a philosophical meaning.
A little later, the Pre-Raphaelite artists, whose paintings attracted public attention, began to address the topics of human inequality ("Lady Lilith"), exploitation of women ("Awakened modesty"), emigration ("Farewell to England").
An important role in the work of the brotherhood was played by paintings based on the works of English poets and writers. The painters were inspired by the works of Shakespeare, Keats, as well as the Italian Dante Alighieri.
Female images
The subject of paintings with female characters among the Pre-Raphaelites is quite diverse. They were united only in one thing - female beauty reigned on their canvases. The ladies were always portrayed as beautiful, calm, with a touch of mystery. The subjects are different: curse, death, unrequited love, spiritual purity.
Quite often, the theme of marital infidelity is raised, where a woman is exposed in an unseemly light. Of course, she carries cruel punishment for her act.
Women often succumb to temptation and voluptuousness in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites (Proserpine). But there is a reverse plot, where a man is responsible for the fall of a woman (as in the paintings "Marianne", "Awakened modesty").
Sitters
Basically, models for their paintings, artists chose relatives and friends. Rossetti often wrote with his mother and sister ("Youth of the Virgin Mary"), but also resorted to the services of his mistress Fanny ("Lucrezia Borzhia"). While Elizabeth was alive, his beloved wife, female images acquired her face.
Effie Gray, the wife of Millet and the ex-wife of Ruskin, is captured in the painting "The Order of Liberation" and portraits by John.
Annie Miller, Hunt's fiancee, posed for almost all the fraternity artists. She is depicted on the canvases "Elena Troyanskaya", "Awakened modesty", "Woman in yellow."
Landscapes
Landscapes were painted only by some artists of this direction. They left the walls of the offices and worked in the open air. This helped the painters to catch everything to the last detail, their paintings became perfect.
Hours spent time pre-Raphaelites in nature, so as not to miss a single trifle. This work required titanic patience and creativity. Probably, due to the nature of the direction program, the landscape did not become as widespread as other genres.
The principles of drawing nature are most fully reflected in Hunt's paintings "English Coast" and Millet's "Autumn Leaves".
Decay
After several successful exhibitions, the Pre-Raphaelite fraternity began to fall apart. Uniting their love for the Middle Ages was not enough. Everyone was looking for his own way. Only Hunt remained faithful to the principles of this direction to the end.
Certainty came in 1853, when Millet became a member of the Royal Academy. The brotherhood has completely broken up. Some moved away from painting for a long time (for example, Rossetti took up writing).
Despite the actual cessation of existence, the Pre-Raphaelites as a direction acted for some time. However, the manner of writing the pictures and the general principles were somewhat distorted.
Late Pre-Raphaelites
The artists representing the late stage of the current include Simeon Solomon (the works reflected the essence of the movement of aestheticism and homosexual motives), Evelyn de Morgan (wrote on mythological topics, for example, “Ariadne on Naxos”), illustrator Henry Ford.
There are a number of artists who were influenced by paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites. Photos of some of them often appeared in the British press. These are Sophie Anderson, Frank Dixie, John Godward, Edmund Leighton and others.
Value
Pre-Raphaelitism is called almost the first artistic direction of England, which became famous throughout the world. Each critic or layman has his own opinion and right to evaluate the work of painters. Only one thing is certain - this trend has penetrated into all spheres of society.
Now much is being rethought. New scientific works are being written, for example, "Pre-Raphaelites. Life and work in 500 paintings." Someone comes to the conclusion that representatives of this trend became the forerunners of the Symbolists. Someone talks about the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites on hippies and even John Tolkien.
Cloths of artists exhibited in leading museums in Britain. Contrary to popular belief, pictures of the Pre-Raphaelites are not stored in the Hermitage. The exhibition of paintings was first shown in Russia in 2008 at the Tretyakov Gallery.