Life And Works Of The Pre Raphaelites

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An investigation into how the life experiences of the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood inspired and influenced their artistic style and progress.

I have been interested in the work of the Pre Raphaelites since my first encounter with John William Waterhouse’s (1849—1917) painting “The Lady of Shalott” when I visited the Tate gallery in London. I was enchanted by the delicacy and beauty of the paintwork along with the expressiveness of the stories behind the painting. In the Victorian London of 1847, seven young men calling themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood gathered together, united by a shared distrust for the Royal Academy, one of the most prestigious art institutions of the day. Instead, they turned for inspiration to the art of the middle Ages, the time "before Raphael." Their subjects were inspired primarily by literature, including the Bible, Shakespeare, and the poets of their own age, such as Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892) and John Keats (1795–1821).
I have longed to learn more about the brotherhood since then and feel this investigative essay to be perfect for this cause. I plan to study, in depth, the life experiences of the members of the brotherhood, in particular the founding three along with Waterhouse, their relationships with one and other, their romances and their relationships with the art critic John Ruskin. I am interested to see how the artist’s styles and topics changed after particular life experiences for example religious awakening.

When the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood began in mid nineteenth century England, its founders promoted an anti-academic brand of art which combined moral messages with hard realism. The morality which obsessed the early Pre-Raphaelites, especially Hunt, became secondary to a quest for beauty as the movement progressed. The three artists founded the Brotherhood because they believed that
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