Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following images!!
“The Black Brunswicker” (1860) by John Everett Millais
“Isabella and the Pot of Basil” (1868) by William Holman Hunt
“Found” (1865–1869, unfinished) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
One of my more recent obsessions is with the artists know as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, it’s most famous members being John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Like many of my obsessions, the Pre-Raphaelites have been floating around the periphery of my awareness for some time, perhaps years. My interest was peaked only recently (this spring) by the Legion of Honor‘s stunning exhibit “The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860 – 1900,” featuring works by not only the Pre-Raphaelites but also their contemporaries, students, and successors (including William Morris, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, etc.). This exhibit picked up the threads of some other interests of mine, such as Charles Dickens’s companion and fellow writer Wilkie Collins (The Moonstone, The Woman in White, etc.). The exhibit also inspired me to dig deeper into the lives of these eccentric Victorian “Renaissance” men!
An easy way to learn more about the Pre-Raphaelites is through the BBC six-part series Desperate Romantics (2009), featuring a cast of lovely men and women (Aidan Turner, Rafe Spall, and Amy Manson to name a few) and gorgeous period costumes. While at times exuding a contemporary (as in 21st century) feel in the vein of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), the series is very painstakingly researched yet thoroughly enjoyable to watch. It’s a series I’m just itching to re-watch and show to all my friends.
Aidan Turner as Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Another wonderful way to enjoy the Pre-Raphaelites is through the online comic Pre-Raphernalia: The Pre-Raph Sketchbook Cartoons of Raine Szramski (preraphernalia.blogspot.com). This series is another painstakingly researched yet thoroughly enjoyable journey into the bizarre history of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, with plenty of cameos by Rossetti’s pet wombat named “Top.”
My most recent encounter with the Pre-Raphaelites is surprisingly through the British footwear brand Dr. Martens. Dr. Martens has teamed up with Liberty of London to create shoes and purses featuring William Morris’s celebrated “Strawberry Thief” textile design. My birthday’s coming up, so I’m hoping to get my paws on one of these timeless purses!
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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas
October 5th, 2012 at 5:35 am
<3 William Morris!
October 9th, 2012 at 11:49 pm
This exhibition is currently running in London at the Tate Britain, it’s well worth a visit if you enjoy the Pre-Raphaelites and their world
October 10th, 2012 at 12:53 am
Thanks for the follow, the like, and the advice! I did notice that the exhibition in now at the Tate, but I think it has a good number more of the most famous paintings (like Millais’s “Ophelia” and Wallis’s Chatterton). I’m not sure if I’ll be there in time to see this exhibit, but I am dying to explore the Tate one way or the other. I’m just hoping that their William Blake collection will return from Madrid by the time I’m in London! Best regards, G. E.
November 17th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
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January 7th, 2013 at 11:48 am
[…] around the Victorian avant-garde artists known as The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including the likes of John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. […]
January 14th, 2013 at 11:04 am
[…] was doing some research on The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and came across the perfect poem for my first zine! I think this poem will be unexpected and […]
January 14th, 2013 at 8:02 pm
Um – the show “Desperate Romantics” is NOT painfully researched – it is riddled with innacuracies and sensationalism and downright fallacies. It is fine as entertainment, but not as history… I am a huge fan of the Pre Raphaelites myself and have read many biographies and histories of their movement and I was very disappointed by the way the show presented them.
January 14th, 2013 at 8:13 pm
Thank you for your input. I think “Desperate Romantics,” while not 100% accurate, is a good introduction for those who haven’t read too much about The Pre-Raphaelites. I’ve noticed that a lot of people strongly dislike “Desperate Romantics,” but I think it’s best to treat it like Sophia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” — looking at historical figures through a modern lens. –G. E.
February 18th, 2015 at 10:21 am
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