PRE-RAPHAELITE

Report by: Joylyne G. Casticon

What is Pre-Raphealite?

 Also called as Pre- Raphealite brotherhood. It was

a group of English painters, poets, and art critics.
Founded in by:
William Holman
Hunt
John Everett
Millais
Dante Gabriel
Rossetti
William Michael
Rossetti
James Collinson
Thomas
Woolner
Frederic George
Stephens
PRE-RAPHEALITE

 According to Britannica.com , Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, group

of young British painters who banded together in 1848 in reaction
against what they conceived to be unimaginative and artificial
historical painting of the Royal Academy and who purportedly
sought to express a new moral seriousness and sincerity in their
works.
 Embodies symbolic realism
Why are they called “Pre-Raphaelites”

 The group sought a return to the abundant detail, intense colours and complex
compositions of Quattrocento Italian Art.
 They believed the classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had
been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art, hence the name “pre-
Raphaelite”

RAPHAEL
William Hunt
Was an English painter. His paintings
were notable for their great attention to
detail, vivid colour, and elaborate
symbolism.
For Hunt, it was the duty of the artist to
reveal the correspondence between sign
and fact.
The Awakening Conscience
 Depicts a kept woman who has a
revelation and is moving towards
the light that represents Christ– then
she understands the wrongs of her
ways
 The lady on the painting was a
mistress
The Awakening Conscience
 The painting appears to depict a
momentary disagreement between
husband and wife, but the title and a host
of symbols within the painting make it
clear that this is a mistress and her lover.

Symbolic references in the objects

 The woman’s clasped hands
 The cat beneath the table toying a bird
 The clock concealed under glass
 Tapestry which hangs unfinished on the
piano.
Ophelia
 Painted by John Everett Millais with oil
Paint. 1851-1852.
 It depicts Ophelia, a character from
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.
 The work received mixed response when
first exhibited at the royal academy, but
has since come to be admired as one of
the most important works of the mid 19th
century for it’s beauty and its accurate
depiction of natural landscape.
 Ophelia

 Ophelia was singing before she drowns in a

river in Denmark.
 Act IV scene VII “Queen Gertrude’ speech.
 Ophelia has been making garlands of
wildflowers. She climbs onto a willow tree
overhanging a brook to dangle some from it’s
branches , and a bough breaks beneath her. She
lies in the water singing songs, as if unaware of
her danger. Her clothes ,trapping air , have
allowed her to temporarily stay afloat. But
eventually, her garments became heavy as it
filled with water, it pulled her down from her
melodious lay. Down to muddy death.
 Ophelia
 Ophelia’s pose- her open arms upwards
gaze- also resembles traditional portrayals
of saints or martyrs, but has also been
interpreted as erotic.
 Millais utilizes bright, intense colours in
the landscape to make the pale Ophelia
contrast with the nature behind her . All
this is evident in the vivid attention to
detail in the brush and trees around
Ophelia, the contouring of her face , and
the intricate work of Millais did on her
dress.
Theodore Rousseau
French Painter of the
Barbizon school
Forrest
Fontainebleau
 It’s whole title is Forest
Fontainebleau, Cluster of Tall Trees
Overlooking the plain of Clair-Bois
at the edge of Bas-Breau
 Painted by Theodore Rousseau
 His medium was oil on canvas
 Place for artist to enjoy nature
Forrest
Fontainebleau
 A live oak dominates this late
afternoon landscape. Diffuse light
from the over cast sky reflects off
the pond and up to the branches in
the foreground are barely suggested
and the single figure making his
way around the pond followed by a
herd of cows is thinly sketched
Forrest
Fontainebleau
 He made use of special easel and
lean-to to facilitate painting
outdoors
 France (place created)
 The length of the process was about
3 years. (1849-1852)