Name chosen by a group of mid 19th-century English artists. The group is merely a blip in European art history, but in the UK it was a major event in the British art world and many of the works of art are priced possessions and inventory of e.g. Tate, Leeds Art Gallery, and Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery.
In essence the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood sought a return to what the members perceived a more pure art as evident before the advent of Italian artist Raphael (1483-1520). The efforts are beautiful and highly memorable. Nonetheless, they leave you with the all important questions: Why did they do it? Why did they fluctuate between uplifting and morally serious subject matters? Why did they have a propensity of creating highly detailed scenes of pastiche and sentimental renditions of medieval life?
Some of the members were: Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), Joh Everett Millais (1829-1896)
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