Pre-Raphaelite paintings with names. Themes of Pre-Raphaelite paintings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

From the 1850s, a new direction in poetry and painting began to develop in England. It was called "Pre-Raphaelites". This article presents the main ideas of the artistic community, the themes of creative activity, Pre-Raphaelite paintings with names.

Who are the Pre-Raphaelites?

In an effort to get away from the boring academic traditions and realistic aesthetics of the Victorian era, a group of artists created their own art movement. It has penetrated almost all spheres of life, shaped the behavior and communication of its creators. Both the direction of art and its representatives-painters bore the same name - the Pre-Raphaelites. Their paintings demonstrated a spiritual relationship with the early Renaissance. Actually, the name of the brotherhood speaks for itself. The painters were interested in the creators who worked before the heyday of Raphael and Michelangelo. Among them are Bellini, Perugino, Angelico.

The direction developed during the second half of the 19th century.

Rise

Before the 1850s everything was Englishart was under the wing of the Royal Academy of Arts. Its president, Sir Joshua Reynolds, like any other representative of an official institution, was reluctant to accept innovations and did not encourage the experiments of his students.

In the end, such a tight framework forced several painters with similar views on art in general to unite in a brotherhood. Its first representatives were Holman Hunt and Dante Rossetti. They met at an exhibition at the academy and during the conversation realized that their views are largely similar.

Rossetti was painting "The Youth of the Virgin Mary" at that time, and Hunt helped him complete it not with a deed, but with a word. Already in 1849, the canvas was displayed at the exhibition. Young people agreed that modern English painting is not going through the best period in its history. In order to somehow revive this art form, it was necessary to return to pre-academic origins, to simplicity and sensuality.

Key Representatives

Initially, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, whose paintings breathed new life into British culture, consisted of seven people.

1. Holman Hunt. He lived a long life, remaining true to his views on art until his death. He became the author of several publications that tell about the members of the brotherhood and describe the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites. Among the famous paintings of the painter himself are "The Shadow of Death" (a religious painting depicting Jesus), "Isabella and the Pot of Basil" (based on the poem by John Keats), "The Scapegoat" (written inbased on biblical stories).

2. John Mille. Known as the youngest student of the Academy of Arts, who later became its president. John, after a long period of work in the Pre-Raphaelite style, renounced the brotherhood. To feed his family, he began to paint portraits to order and succeeded in this. The most notable works are "Christ in the parental home" (a religious painting filled with symbols of the future life and death of Christ), "Ophelia" (written on the basis of an episode from "Hamlet"), "Soap Bubbles" (a painting of the late period of creativity, became famous as an advertisement soap).

3. Dante Rossetti. The paintings are filled with the cult of the beauty and eroticism of a woman. His wife Elizabeth became the main muse of the painter. Her death knocked Dante down. He put all his manuscripts with poems in her coffin, but a few years later, having come to his senses, he achieved exhumation and took them from the grave. Famous works: "Blessed Beatrice" (depicted Dante's wife, who is between life and death), "Proserpina" (ancient Roman goddess with a pomegranate in her hands), "Veronica Veronese" (a symbolic canvas reflecting the creative process).

4. Michael Rossetti. Dante's brother, who also studied at the academy. But in the end, he chose the path of a critic and a writer for himself. The paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites were repeatedly analyzed by him. He was the biographer of his brother. Formulated the main concepts of the direction.

5. Thomas Woolner. He was a sculptor and a poet. In his early work he supported the ideas of the Pre-Raphaelites,turned to nature and took into account minor details. He published his poems in the fraternity magazine, but then moved away from their general ideas and concentrated on classical forms.

6. Frederick Stephens. Artist and art critic. Quite early he became disillusioned with his talent as a painter and focused on criticism. He considered it his mission to explain to the public the goals of the brotherhood and glorify the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites. Several of his paintings have survived: "The Marquis and Griselda", "Mother and Child", "The Death of King Arthur".

7. James Collinson. He was a believer, so he painted pictures on religious themes. He left the community after Millet's painting was criticized in the press and called blasphemous. Among his works are "The Holy Family", "The Renunciation of Elizabeth of Hungary", "The Sisters".

Pre-Raphaelites, whose paintings caused a lot of controversy, had a number of like-minded people. They were not part of the brotherhood, but adhered to the basic ideas. Among them are artist L. Alma-Tadema, designer F. M. Brown, painter W. Deverell, embroiderer M. Morris, illustrator A. Hughes and others.

Criticism at the initial stage

Initially, the Pre-Raphaelite paintings were received quite warmly by critics. They were like a breath of fresh air. However, the situation escalated after the presentation in the light of several religious paintings, written in inconsistency with the canons.

In particular, the painting "Christ in the parental home" by Millet. The canvas depicts an ascetic setting, a barn, near which a flock of sheep is grazing. Mother of God standskneeling before little Jesus, who hurt his palm with a nail. Millet filled this picture with symbols. A bleeding hand is a sign of a future crucifixion, a bowl of water carried by John the Baptist is a symbol of the Baptism of the Lord, a dove sitting on a ladder is identified with the Holy Spirit, sheep with an innocent victim.

Critics called this painting blasphemous. The Times newspaper dubbed the canvas a rebellion in art. Others, pointing to the comparison of the holy family with the common people, characterized Millet's work as outrageous and disgusting.

Rossetti's painting "The Annunciation" was also attacked. The painter departed from the biblical canons, dressing the Virgin in white clothes. On the canvas, she is depicted as frightened. Critic F. Stone compared the work of the Pre-Raphaelites with useless archeology.

Who knows how the fate of the brotherhood would have developed if the critic John Ruskin, whose opinion was considered by everyone, had not come out on his side.

Influence of an authoritative person

John Ruskin was an art historian and wrote more than one scientific work before he became acquainted with the work of the Pre-Raphaelites. What was his surprise when he realized that all the thoughts and ideas reflected in his articles found their place on the canvases of the brotherhood.

Ruskin advocated penetration into the essence of nature, attention to detail, detachment from imposed canons and depiction of scenes as they should be. All this was included in the program of the Pre-Raphaelites.

A critic has written several articles forThe Times, where he praised the work of artists. He bought some of their paintings, supporting the creators both morally and financially. Ruskin liked the new and unusual manner of painting oil paintings. The Pre-Raphaelites subsequently created several portraits of their protector and patron.

Plots of paintings

Initially, the artists turned exclusively to gospel subjects, focusing on the experience of the creators of the early Renaissance. They did not seek to execute the picture according to church canons. The main goal was to transfer philosophical thought to the canvas. That is why the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites are so detailed and symbolic.

"Youth of the Virgin Mary" by Rossetti was quite in line with the demands of the Victorian era. It depicted a modest girl under the supervision of her mother. Usually she was depicted reading, but Dante put a needle in the hands of the Virgin. She embroidered a lily on the canvas - a symbol of purity and purity. The three flowers on the stem are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Palm leaves and thorns with thorns - the joys and sorrows of Mary. There are no meaningless objects, colors and actions in the picture - everything is designed to indicate a philosophical meaning.

A little later, Pre-Raphaelite artists, whose paintings attracted public attention, began to turn to the themes of human inequality ("Lady Lilith"), exploitation of women ("Awakened Shame"), emigration ("Farewell to England").

An important role in the work of the brotherhood was played by paintings based on the works of English poets and writers. The painters were inspired by the works of Shakespeare, Keats, and the Italian DanteAlighieri.

Female images

The theme of paintings with female characters among the Pre-Raphaelites is quite diverse. They were united only in one thing - female beauty reigned on their canvases. The ladies were depicted as invariably beautiful, calm, with a touch of mystery. There are different plots: curse, death, unrequited love, spiritual purity.

Quite often the topic of adultery is raised, where a woman is exposed in an unseemly light. Of course, she bears severe punishment for her deed.

Women often succumb to temptation and voluptuousness in the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites ("Proserpina"). But there is also a reverse plot, where a man is the culprit of a woman's fall (as in the paintings "Marianne", "Awakened modesty").

Models

Basically, the artists chose relatives and friends as models for their paintings. Rossetti often wrote with his mother and sister ("Youth of the Virgin Mary"), but also resorted to the services of his mistress Fanny ("Lucretia Borgia"). As long as Elizabeth, his beloved wife, was alive, her face took on female images.

Effie Grey, wife of Millais and ex-husband of Ruskin, is featured in the painting Release Order and John's portraits.

Annie Miller, Hunt's fiancée, has posed for almost every artist in the fraternity. She is depicted on the canvases "Helen of Troy", "Awakened modesty", "Woman in yellow".

Landscapes

Landscapes were painted only by some artists of thisdirections. They left the walls of the offices and worked in the open air. This helped the painters to catch everything to the last detail, their paintings became perfect.

The Pre-Raphaelites spent hours in nature, so as not to miss a single detail. This work required titanic patience and the ability to create. Probably, due to the peculiarities of the direction program, the landscape has not become as widespread as other genres.

The principles of drawing nature are most fully reflected in Hunt's "English Shores" and Millet's "Autumn Leaves".

Decomposition

After several successful exhibitions, the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood began to fall apart. Their common love for the Middle Ages was not enough. Everyone was looking for their own way. Only Hunt remained true to the principles of this direction to the end.

Certainty came in 1853, when Millais received membership of the Royal Academy. The brotherhood was finally broken up. Some moved away from painting for a long time (for example, Rossetti took up writing).

Despite the actual cessation of existence, the Pre-Raphaelites as a direction acted for some time. However, the manner of writing pictures and the general principles were somewhat distorted.

Late Pre-Raphaelites

Late-stage artists include Simeon Solomon (the work reflected the essence of the aesthetic movement and homosexual motifs), Evelyn de Morgan (painted on mythological themes, for example, "Ariadne auf Naxos"), illustrator HenryFord.

There are a number of other artists who were influenced by Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Photos of some of them often appeared in the British press. These are Sophie Anderson, Frank Dixie, John Godward, Edmund Leighton and others.

Meaning

Pre-Raphaelitism is called almost the first artistic direction in England, which became famous throughout the world. Each critic or layman has his own opinion and the right to evaluate the work of painters. Undoubtedly, only one thing - this trend has penetrated into all spheres of society.

A lot of things are being rethought now. New scientific works are being written, for example, "Pre-Raphaelites. Life and work in 500 paintings." Someone comes to the conclusion that the representatives of this trend became the forerunners of the symbolists. Someone talks about the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites on hippies and even John Tolkien.

Paintings of artists exhibited in leading museums in Britain. Contrary to popular belief, Pre-Raphaelite paintings are not kept in the Hermitage. The exhibition of paintings was first shown in Russia in 2008 at the Tretyakov Gallery.