The Pre-Raphaelites

Have you ever heard of the artists who self-styled themselves as The Pre-Raphaelites?  Well, the only reason I knew about them is a book I got years ago which was in a series looking at the lives of various authors and artists through their letters and diaries.

I like their art, so I thought you might be interested to see some of it and to know a little about them.

Raphael was an early artist that I have posted about before.  

The Pre-Raphaelites did not come before Raphael.  In fact they were quite a lot later – in the mid 1800's.  They were a group of seven artists who dismissed all post-Renaissance art are sloppy and who formed a semi-secret group they call the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  Most of their works were either signed PRB or PRB appeared somewhere in them.

The artists were Millais, Hunt, Gabriel and William Rossetti, Stephens, Collinson, and the sculptor Woolner.  A lot of the inspiration for their works came from the poet Keats.

The painting at the top of this post is by Millais and is called Spring. Isn't it just great?

This one is Isabella, also by Millais.  It illustrates the opening scene of Keats' poem.  You can see PRB on Isabella's stool.

And here is Millais' Mariana – I love those windows.

Just so I'm not only showing you Millais, here is The Pretty Baa-Lambs by Ford Maddox Brown – doesn't the baby look scared?

This one is by Rossetti and has an Italian quotation to go with it "The mouth that has been kissed loses not its freshness; still it renews itself as does the moon."

And, lastly, another Rosetti – which I think is my favourite.  It is called Water Willow.

This is the book that I have – The Pre-Raphaelites: Their Lives in Letters and Diaries by Jan Marsh. (Published by Collins & Brown in 1996)