An Introduction to the Pre-Raphaelites | National Museums Liverpool
Summary
TLDRThe Walker Art Gallery houses an exceptional collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, showcasing the detailed and vivid style of the movement. Founded in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood rebelled against traditional art norms. Their works often depicted everyday life and drew from literature, such as Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream.' The gallery's 'Isabella' is a key piece, reflecting the brotherhood's early influence. The gallery has been a longstanding supporter of these artists, who remain popular today.
Takeaways
- 🎨 The Walker Art Gallery houses one of the finest collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings globally.
- 🖌️ The Pre-Raphaelite style is characterized by intricate details and vivid colors, aiming to achieve a hyper-realistic effect.
- 👨🎨 The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was established in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais.
- 🏛️ They were influenced by and rebelled against the strict rules of the Royal Academy in London, seeking a new artistic direction.
- 🌟 The Pre-Raphaelites were unique for painting subjects that differed from their contemporaries, often focusing on everyday life and social issues.
- 👩🎨 The movement faced criticism for its 'common' themes and highly centralized compositions, which were not favored by the art establishment.
- 📚 The Pre-Raphaelites drew inspiration from literature and poetry, as seen in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream'.
- 🖼️ 'Isabella' is a significant painting in the Walker Art Gallery's collection, being the first to emerge from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
- 🛒 The Walker Art Gallery has been a consistent supporter of the Pre-Raphaelites, with early acquisitions including 'Dante's Dream' purchased directly from Rossetti.
- 🔥 The Pre-Raphaelites remain a popular and influential artist group at the Walker Art Gallery to this day.
Q & A
What is the significance of the Walker Art Gallery's collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings?
-The Walker Art Gallery is noted for having one of the best collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world, showcasing examples from all the great Pre-Raphaelites and their followers.
How did the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood begin and who were its founding members?
-The Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood was founded in 1848. The three chief members were Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais.
What was the artistic style of the Pre-Raphaelites?
-The Pre-Raphaelites painted in a very hard, detailed style with vivid colors to create a hyper-real effect.
How did the Pre-Raphaelites differ from their contemporaries in terms of subject matter?
-The Pre-Raphaelites were unique in painting very different subjects from their contemporaries, often depicting scenes from everyday life and showing a social conscience.
What criticism did the Pre-Raphaelite paintings often face from the establishment?
-The criticism of Pre-Raphaelite paintings often centered on them being considered too common, not elevated enough, and highly centralized.
How did literature and poetry influence the Pre-Raphaelite artists?
-The Pre-Raphaelites drew influences from literature and poetry, as seen in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream', which was inspired by Dante's poetry and his fascination with the relationship between Beatrice and Dante.
Who were the models for the figures in Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream'?
-In 'Dante's Dream', Beatrice was modeled on Jane Morris, the wife of William Morris, and Rossetti's wife Lizzie Siddell also features in the painting.
Why is the painting 'Isabella' considered important in the Walker Art Gallery's collection?
-'Isabella' is considered one of the most important paintings in the collection as it was the first painting to emerge from the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood.
What is the narrative depicted in the painting 'Isabella'?
-The painting 'Isabella' tells the story of Isabella, who had wealthy Florentine brothers, and her love for Lorenzo, a poor apprentice. The brothers disapproved of their relationship, leading to Lorenzo's death.
How has the Walker Art Gallery supported the Pre-Raphaelites throughout history?
-The Walker Art Gallery has always been supportive of the Pre-Raphaelites, with early acquisitions of their works, such as purchasing 'Dante's Dream' directly from Rossetti.
What is the current popularity of the Pre-Raphaelite artists at the Walker Art Gallery?
-The Pre-Raphaelite artists remain one of the most popular artist groups at the Walker Art Gallery, as indicated by the ongoing interest and support from visitors.
Outlines
🎨 The Pre-Raphaelite Movement and the Walker Art Gallery
The Walker Art Gallery is renowned for its extensive collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, showcasing works from the movement's inception in 1848 by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, consisting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais, rebelled against the rigid academic painting rules of the Royal Academy in London. They were known for their detailed, vividly colored paintings that depicted everyday life and social issues, diverging from the norm of their time. The gallery's collection includes 'Dante's Dream' by Rossetti, which reflects the artists' influence from literature, particularly Dante's poetry. The painting 'Isabella' is highlighted as a pivotal piece, illustrating the tension among characters before a tragic event. The Walker Art Gallery has been a consistent supporter of the Pre-Raphaelites, acquiring works early on, including directly from Rossetti, and continues to celebrate their legacy.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Pre-Raphaelite
💡Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
💡Hyper-real effect
💡Social Conscience
💡Literature and Poetry
💡Dante Gabriel Rossetti
💡John Everett Millais
💡William Holman Hunt
💡Isabella
💡Walker Art Gallery
Highlights
The Walker Art Gallery houses one of the best collections of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world.
Examples from all the great Pre-Raphaelites and their followers are present in the collection.
Pre-Raphaelite paintings are characterized by a hard, detailed style and vivid colors for a hyper-real effect.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais.
The founders met at the Royal Academy in London and rebelled against its strict rules of art.
Pre-Raphaelites painted very different subjects from their contemporaries, often with a social conscience.
They depicted scenes from everyday life, such as John Brett's 'The Stone Breaker', which was frowned upon by the establishment.
Criticism of Pre-Raphaelite painting often centered on its perceived commonality and lack of elevation.
Pre-Raphaelites were influenced by literature and poetry, as seen in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream'.
Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream' features Jane Morris, wife of William Morris, as Beatrice, and his wife Lizzie Siddell.
The painting 'Isabella' is one of the most important in the collection, being the first to emerge from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
The Walker Art Gallery has been supportive of the Pre-Raphaelites, with early acquisitions of their works.
Rossetti's 'Dante's Dream' was purchased directly from the artist, showing the gallery's support for the Pre-Raphaelites.
The Pre-Raphaelites remain one of the most popular artist groups at the Walker Art Gallery today.
The gallery's collection showcases the unique and detailed style of Pre-Raphaelite art.
The Pre-Raphaelites' focus on social issues and everyday life set them apart from other artists of their time.
The Walker Art Gallery's Pre-Raphaelite collection includes works that were groundbreaking for their time.
Transcripts
the walker art gallery has one of the
best collections of pre-raphaelite
painting
in the world we have examples from all
the great pre-raphaelites and all of
their followers
they painted in a very hard very
detailed style and they use very very
vivid colors to create
a hyper real effect
the pre-raphaelites started out as the
pre-raphaelite brotherhood and they were
founded in 1848
there were three chief members dante
gabriel rossetti
william holman hunt and john everett
millay and they all met at the royal
academy in london where they learn very
academic painting
very strict rules of what art should be
and they didn't like that
so they rebelled against that and came
up with lots of different ideas about
what they thought art should become
the pre-raphaelites were unique because
they were painting very very different
subjects from the rest of their
contemporaries
they had a kind of social conscience as
well they painted
scenes from everyday life the painting
behind me john brett's the stone breaker
is sort of a depiction of working class
rural life
other painting at the time didn't really
show those sorts of things and
that was frowned upon by the
establishment so a lot of the criticism
of pre-raphaelite painting was that it
was very
common that it wasn't elevated enough
and that it was highly
centralized as well so another thing
that the pre-raphaelites had in common
is they also drew influences from
literature and poetry
a great example of this is dante gabriel
rossetti's
dante's dream which is in the walker art
gallery collection as well rosetti was
obviously a huge
fan of dante's poetry and he was really
obsessed if you like with the
relationship between beatrice
and dante and their love in this
particular painting
he's actually modelled beatrice on his
friend william morris's wife jane morris
and his wife lizzie siddell also
features in the painting
the walker art gallery has an amazing
painting called isabella
and it's actually perhaps one of the
most important paintings in the
collection because
it was the first painting to emerge out
of the pre-raphaelite brotherhood
the sister isabella had wealthy
florentine brothers
and it's about her love for lorenzo the
poor apprentice
the brothers didn't approve of the
relationship between lorenzo and
isabella
and ultimately kill lorenzo the painting
actually depicts them all sitting around
the table before any of this has
happened but you can obviously see
the tension between the figures in the
painting the walker has always been
supportive of the pre-raphaelites they
were early acquisitions to the
collection
dante's dream was purchased from rosetti
himself
so you can see that we've always
supported the pre-raphaelites and
they're still one of the most popular
artist groups that we have here today
you
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