Pre Raphaelites: Tate Introductions

A society of young artists and writers, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in London in 1848. They were known for controversially rebelling against the classical academic painting conventions of the day in favour of a meeting of medieval romanticism and a new realism, and were inspired by theories of John Ruskin. In this concise and beautifully illustrated introduction book, expert Jason Rosenfeld walks us through the key moments and central artworks to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The Pre-Raphaelites, the first avant-garde group in the history of British art, were bent on introducing bold new ideas, encouraging change in art and challenging the broader culture. They rebelled against the academic art of the day and produced novel explorations of subjects from literature, poetry and the Bible. The principal members of the group, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, created such seminal and well-loved paintings as The Awakening Conscience, Ophelia and Beata Beatrix. Jason Rosenfeld, an acknowledged expert on the Pre-Raphaelites, explores the origins and influence of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.