CLIL CLIL CLIL HISTORY OF ART THE PRE-RAPHAELITES 1. [ ] In the middle of the 19th century, a group of students of the Royal Academy of Arts in London rebelled against the prescriptive view of art which idealised nature and beauty rather than truth. The traditional tendency was a Neo-classical style in the tradition of Raphael (14831520) or the Romantic style of English painters like John Constable (1776-1837) or William Turner (1775-1851). The initial group, later to be known as The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood , was formed by seven artists, of which three became famous: William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) and John Everett Millais (1829-1896). Hunt was the main theorist of the group and set1 the guiding principles: the choice of simple rather than grand subjects, with a serious and moralistic theme, an honest rendition2 of nature based on direct observation and an adherence to Christian spirituality. Rossetti used his charisma to gain3 popular support with other young artists. Millais was the most talented of the three and he may have seen membership of such a rebellious group as a way of acquiring fame. 2. [ ] The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood admired the purity and honesty found in early Renaissance paintings, especially in the 15th century artists, known as the Primitives, who predated4 Raphael. The idea of a brotherhood came from a group of German artists who had called themselves Lukasbr der (Luke s brothers), but also known as the Nazarenes . They had found inspiration in the style of D rer (1471-1528) and Michelangelo (1475-1564) and had taken the process to an extreme, reviving5 archaic styles of painting. Another source of inspiration was the art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900), who was both mentor and patron of the group. He believed that artists should be true to nature and he claimed6 that art was the manifestation of the moral state of society. Last but not least, the Pre-Raphaelites also drew from7 Shakespeare, Dante and contemporary poets such as Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson. 3. [ ] The Pre-Raphaelites insisted that paintings must be done from direct observation of nature; for example, when Millais painted Ophelia (1852), he spent four months outside painting the background. They used very strong colours and achieved luminosity by using a plain8 white background, rather than a coloured one. Symbolism was an important component of the paintings: for example, the flowers around Ophelia represent qualities such as innocence, youth and death. The subjects of their paintings were biblical or inspired by artists and writers they admired. Each painting had a moralistic tale to tell, and even an essentially pastoral scene or sheep standing along a clifftop (Our English Coasts by Hunt, 1852) could represent contemporary fears of anarchy or invasion. Their paintings of religious subjects in a realistic manner were regarded by some as sacrilegious. In Millais painting Christ in the House of His Parents (1849-50), Joseph is portrayed with dirt under the fingernails of his workman s hands, and an actual carpenter was used as a model. 4. [ ] The Brotherhood was formed in 1848 and lasted until 1855. Hunt went to Palestine to find realistic biblical backgrounds; Millais, disillusioned by the poor reception of his work, turned to less controversial and more sentimental subjects; while Rossetti became more interested in mythical and medieval symbolism and switched9 his focus to a more romantic style. Together with other artists he created the second generation of Pre-Raphaelites which led to Symbolism. 302