Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) – Key Concepts

Pre-Raphaelite Movement: Origins, aims, and anti-academic stance

• William and Knox (likely a reference to key figures within the circle) aimed to reform art in England and rejected the English Royal Academy.
• Subject matter favored by the group: medieval themes, culture preceding the Renaissance (sometimes part of the Renaissance itself), and Biblical narratives that are pursued for narrative rather than strictly religious purposes.
• The movement begins in the context of 1850s Britain where the Royal Academy remains conservative, still advocating Renaissance and neoclassical styles; Pre-Raphaelites present themselves as rebels against these norms.
• The name Pre-Raphaelite means literally "before Raphael"—i.e., before the high Renaissance master Raphael, and reflects a reaction against the mature Renaissance style.
• They look back to medieval art and to 15th-century Northern Renaissance as well as some 15th-century Italian art for inspiration.
• Core aims: extreme attention to detail, rejection of Renaissance perspective, and continued modeling with light and shadow while abandoning strict perspective rules.
• They are anti-academic and anti-formulaic in approach, seeking more individual and sincere modes of painting.
• A key historical trigger: in 1848, Jan van Eyck’s portrait (Arnold Feeney) was bought by the English National Gallery; it prompted a discussion about nature, perception, and truth in painting: artists should go to nature and not reject any detail they see.
• Practical methods: finish paintings externally (outdoors) rather than in studio; emphasize direct observation of nature and detailed rendering.
• They criticize the Renaissance approach (e.g., Raphael) as overly formulaic and traditional; they seek to recapture pre-Renaissance qualities in painting.
• Ruskin’s influence is central to their philosophy: the emphasis on truth to nature and the moral/educational purpose of art.
• Relationship to technique: while the Pre-Raphaelites do not abandon light and shadow, they shun structured Renaissance perspective and instead pursue a naturalistic yet highly detailed rendering technique.

Style, technique, and visual language of the movement

• Naturalistic lighting vs. dramatic lighting: Pre-Raphaelites favor lighting that reflects direct observation of nature rather than theatrical or constructed illumination.
• Poses and activity: while more naturalistic in gesture and pose than mid-19th-century academic portraits, there remains a strong, almost symbolic attention to detail and narrative content.
• Attention to symbolism: works often embed literary or mythic references alongside meticulous detail.
• The craft of painting: finished, highly polished surfaces; meticulous brushwork and layering to achieve precision.
• Gesso and ground: paintings prepared on primed canvases with a white base (gesso) to create a crisp, detailed surface that supports fine line and texture work.
• The Pre-Raphaelite preference for historical and medieval details often involved careful reproduction of textures (tapestry, fabrics, wood, metal) and architectural features.

Key figures, works, and thematic connections

• Jan van Eyck influence and the foundational Ruskinian call to “go to nature”
  • The Arnold Feeney portrait (1848) cited as a catalyst for artists to embrace nature in all its detail.
• Rossetti (Dante Gabriel Rossetti)
  • Founding member and moving spirit of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
  • Central to the exploration of women's beauty and the female muse as a dynamic, often complex figure in his paintings.
  • Jane Morris (Jane Burden) as a principal muse later in Rossetti’s career; her features and presence shape many of his late works.
  • Madonna della Finestra: Rossetti’s painting featuring Jane Morris; used in discussions of Jane Morris as a muse and icon.
  • Jane Morris’s biography: Jan Marsh’s biographies of Rossetti and Jane Morris provided important context and guidance for further study; Rossetti’s relationship with Jane was transformative for his art.
  • Romanticized, interpretive portraits: Rossetti often cast Jane as multiple mythic or literary figures (Pandora, Persephone, Venus, Beatrice) rather than straightforward portraits, highlighting muse-as-actor.
• William Morris and the ROYAL TIES
  • Morris, a close associate of Rossetti, became a partner in the broader Pre-Raphaelite circle and later a major designer; their collaboration was foundational to the broader cultural movement (arts and crafts).
  • Jane Morris’s role extended beyond modeling to influencing design and visual culture.
• John Everett Millais
  • Isabellla and the Pot of Basil (Isabella) as a famous Pre-Raphaelite subject; depicts the Keats/medieval narrative of Isabella and Lorenzo.
  • The painting demonstrates intense narrative detail and a more literal, observed realism with a medieval-inflected setting.
  • Ian Clarke note: the brothers plot Lorenzo’s murder due to family greed; Isabella’s dream triggers the later ritual of burying him and the basil; this is a central narrative element that showcases the Pre-Raphaelite penchant for dramatic, melodramatic scenes with strong symbolism.
• Holman Hunt
  • Isabella subject continued or related pieces; a later work in the movement is The Beggar Maid and King Cathuchua, linking to medieval and non-European settings.
  • King Cathuchua and the Beggar Maid (Holman Hunt): features an African king who has never married, who falls in love; uses narrative crossovers and exoticism as subject matter.
• The Lady of Shalott (conceptual link to femme fatale motif)
  • The painting is tied to the femme fatale concept, exploring female seclusion and gaze, and the tension between confinement and looking outward; though the exact attribution to a specific Pre-Raphaelite artist may vary in sources, the motif aligns with the broader movement’s inquiry into female agency and gaze.
• The femme fatale trope and late-19th-century contexts
  • The late 19th century sees female agency and sexuality depicted through a femme fatale lens, with associated moral and social anxieties.
  • Rossetti’s Enunciation (see below) is a focal point in discussions of how the movement engaged with religious imagery, female form, and modern sensibilities.
• Sittel and Ophelia
  • Sittel (a model and painter) is noted as having modeled for Millais-like Pre-Raphaelite subjects; his Ophelia references Shakespeare and is seen as a notable example of a female-empowerment or female-subject portrayal by a woman artist in the period.
  • The Ophelia trope here is treated as a counterpoint to male-centric painting; it is seen as a powerful glimpse into this era’s gendered production of art.
• Jane Morris as a subject of Rossetti’s late oeuvre
  • The Beatrice/ Pandora/ Persephone/ Venus series positions Jane as an archetypal female figure across multiple identities, highlighting the way muse and artist intersect in the Pre-Raphaelite project.
• Satyre and satire of the Aesthetic Movement
  • A later, humorous piece satirizes the Aesthetic Movement: a cartoon titled “the six mark teapot” pokes fun at the perceived pretensions of the era.
  • The Aesthetic Bridegroom image and caption depict a dialogue on taste and refinement, reflecting contemporary debates about art, beauty, and social mores.

The social and gendered context of the movement

• Model access and class issues
  • Because of middle-class restrictions, middle-class women could not freely model for the Pre-Raphaelite circle; they instead turned to working-class models, which influenced the movement’s social dynamics and the realism of its figures.
• Jane Burton (Jane Morris’s early model identity)
  • Jane Burton was an early model in Oxford who later became Jane Morris; her relationship with Rossetti and Morris is a touchstone for the dynamics of the circle.
• The muse-as-vision and the couple’s personal lives
  • Rossetti and Morris’s personal entanglements, including Rossetti’s romance with Jane Morris and Morris’s eventual business partnership with Rossetti, illustrate the intimate, sometimes unstable personal relationships behind the art.
• Biographical and scholarly work that contextualizes the artists
  • Jan Marsh’s biographies of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Jane Morris provide context for later exhibitions and scholarly discussion of Rossetti’s use of Jane Morris as a central icon of the movement.
• Exhibition and curatorial perspectives
  • A contemporary curator’s note discusses organizing a Rossetti exhibition focusing on Jane Morris, curating works from various institutions to illuminate Rossetti’s use of Jane as muse and the broader Pre-Raphaelite project.

Materials, imagery, and symbolic layers

• The Druids and mythological pre-Roman history
  • Some images reference the Druids as part of the mythic history of the British Isles, including a narrative that ties ancient ritual to the Christianization processes—Caesar’s brief mentions anchor these legends in historical discourse.
• The basil motif in Isabella
  • The “pot of basil” imagery ties a narrative of passion, murder, and ritual to botanical symbolism (basil as a living memory of the lover’s head).
• The domestic interior and wealth signals
  • Several works depict interiors that signal wealth and modernity (curtains, clocks, carpets) and thus position the female subject within a newly modern bourgeois domestic space.
• The representation of the working class as muses
  • The Pre-Raphaelites’ interest in working-class women as models reconfigures beauty standards and questions class-based aesthetics in Victorian Britain.
• The role of the muse in Rossetti’s late oeuvre
  • The muse (Jane Morris) becomes a vehicle for various personae (Beatrice, Pandora, Persephone, Venus), highlighting the performative aspect of female beauty and identity within the art.

Techniques, materials, and specific pigments

• The Enunciation and Rossetti’s controversial treatment of the female form
  • The Enunciation (Rossetti) sparked controversy for its sensualized depiction of a Biblical moment (the Annunciation) with a bare arm and assertive physicality; it signaled a shift toward modern, intimate depictions of sacred subjects.
• The material culture surrounding these works
  • The paintings often incorporate luxurious interiors and textiles that reflect contemporary industrial wealth and new materials arriving in Britain (e.g., synthetic or imported dyes, fashionable fabrics).
• The pigment anecdote linked to late 19th-century movements
  • A reference to a pigment (linking to the late-19th-century fascination with science, materials, and exotic or “Egyptian” sources) notes that such pigments could still be purchased in Manhattan today; this ties into the broader interest in new materials and the globalized art market.

Summary: significance and legacy

• The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood reshaped British art by returning to medieval and early Renaissance sources, rejecting the Academic hierarchy, and championing truth to nature, intricate detail, and narrative depth.
• The movement foregrounded the role of the muse and the artist’s relationship to female beauty, often challenging contemporary norms around gender, sexuality, and class.
• The later cultural discourse (femme fatale, satire of the Aesthetic Movement) reveals how the Pre-Raphaelites influenced broader Victorian debates on art, beauty, gender, and modernity.
• The legacy includes a robust set of biographical studies (e.g., Jan Marsh) and ongoing curatorial efforts to re-contextualize Rossetti and Jane Morris within the wider spectrum of Victorian art and design.

Key dates and numeric references (for quick recall)

• 1848: Arnold Feeney portrait by Jan van Eyck, referenced by the National Gallery as a prompt to embrace nature in art; influences Pre-Raphaelite principles.
• 1850s: The decade when the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood initiated major reforms and challenged the Royal Academy.
• 19: The age of the painter Malay when he created one of the discussed works (e.g., a notable early work in the movement).
• 74.36 inches: Height of a specific painting by Malay in the discussed example.
• $$S$ names and titles mentioned in the passage (e.g., Isabella; King Cathuchua and the Beggar Maid; Lady of Shalott; Ophelia) indicate the movement’s engagement with narrative, myth, and literary adaptation.

Notable figures and works mentioned (at a glance)

• Dante Gabriel Rossetti: founder and driving force; muse-focused practice; Beatrice and Jane Morris as central icons.
• Jane Morris (Jane Burden): chief muse; later recognized as an accomplished designer; subject of major works; central to the Rossetti circle.
• Millais: Isabella and the Pot of Basil; narrative-driven Pre-Raphaelite painting.
• Holman Hunt: King Cathuchua and the Beggar Maid; engagement with cross-cultural and mythic themes.
• Sittel: Ophelia (modeling for Malay); example of female subject in Shakespearean adaptation; a female artist’s perspective within the period.
• Jan Marsh: biographer of Rossetti and Jane Morris; provided key scholarly context for exhibitions and understanding Rossetti’s depiction of Jane.
• The Lady of Shalott: a Pre-Raphaelite-related reference to the femme fatale motif in Arthurian or domestic settings.
• The six mark teapot: satirical reference to the Aesthetic Movement and its emphasis on refined lifestyle and material culture.