The Beginning of Avant-garde
Artistry: The Pre-Raphaelite Movement.
Widely
accepted as the first avant-garde art movement, but denied the official designation,
the Pre-Raphaelites cemented their place in history as one of the most
influential art forms of the 19th century. Through reformation by
rejection of earlier art forms, these painters, poets and critics sought to
change the course of academia and culture alike. Influential and highly controversial,
the Pre-Raphaelites broke the mold of conventional practices in the art world
and set off a re-vitalization of complex artistic composition with classical
and medieval themes. Unfortunately, the official Pre-Raphaelite movement was
short lived, but has inspired and influenced many artists and writers since the
19th century to continue the spirit of the movement.
The
foundation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, (also known as PRB), was founded
in 1849 by seven influential painters: William Holman Hunt, D.G. Rossetti, John
Everett Millais, William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Thomas Wolner and
F. G. Stephens, (Landow.George P. Pre-Raphaelites: An
Introduction.www.victorianweb.org.29, October 2009. http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/prb/1.html).
Their affiliation with the very influential socialite and critic, John Ruskin,
gained them recognition for breaking from the molds of Victorian styled art and
practice. By painting their works in
accordance to Ruskin’s criteria of being “true to nature”, the PRB gained his
favor and support in a critical time of their early career. This criteria, as
Ruskin outlined in his book Modern Painters, was that, “Every Pre-Raphaelite
background is painted to the last touch, in the open air, from the thing
itself. Every Pre-Raphaelite figure, however studied in expression is a true
portrait of some living person. Every minute accessory is painted in the same
manner.”, (Khalifa.Nehrain.The
Pre-Raphaelites.artyfacts.com.01, November 2009.http://artyfacts.info/Raphael.htm).
Through these principles and with a strong
disdain for the rigid, reserved and “prudish” composition by Victorian Artists,
the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood sought to regain the emotional and romantic,
even sometimes erotic, style of artistry that those from the Renaissance
painter Raphael and earlier had captured, (Stewart.Doug.Incurably
Romantic.www.smithsonianmag.com.01, November 2009.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/preraph.html?c=y&page=2).
This sparked off substantial controversy against the PRB for denouncing the
common standards of art in the mid-nineteenth century. This has led the PRB to
be widely accepted as the first avant-garde art movement in history. PRB was
continually denied this official classification because of their usage of
historical content and the imitation of nature in their art, two practices
still widely taught and used by Victorian artists, (Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Introduction.www.topofart.com.01, November 2009.http://www.topofart.com/movements/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood/).
With youth as an advantage, the PRB utilized four main principles of the
creation of their works:
- “Testing
and defying all conventions of art; for example, if the Royal Academy
schools taught art students to compose paintings with (a) pyramidal
groupings of figures, (b) one major source of light at one side matched by
a lesser one on the opposite, and (c) an emphasis on rich shadow and tone
at the expense of color, the PRB with brilliant perversity painted
bright-colored, evenly lit pictures that appeared almost flat.”
- “The
PRB also emphasized precise, almost photographic representation of even
humble objects, particularly those in the immediate foreground (which were
traditionally left blurred or in shade) --thus violating conventional
views of both proper style and subject.”
- “Following
Ruskin, they attempted to transform the resultant hard-edge realism
(created by 1 and 2) by combining it with typological symbolism. At their
most successful, the PRB produced a magic or symbolic realism, often using
devices found in the poetry of Tennyson and Browning.”
- “Believing
that the arts were closely allied, the PRB encouraged artists and writers
to practice each other's art, though only D.G. Rossetti did so with
particular success.”
- “Looking
for new subjects, they drew upon Shakespeare, Keats, and Tennyson”, (Landow.George P.).
These
guidelines manifested their goal of natural, photographically-styled paintings
that drew the attention of a wide ranging audience, (Hobson.Anthony.The
Pre-Raphaelites and the Society.www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org.01. November
2009.http://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org/society.htm).
The
Pre-Raphaelite era was comprised of two different stages: The first stage was
comprised of the entire PRB, the second stage was directed by D.G. Rossetti, a
member of the PRB, and is considered Aesthetic Pre-Raphaelitism, which
consisted of moody, eroticized medieval themes. This second stage primarily
influenced poetry more than art, but still was a great influence on writers of
the time, as well as throughout modern day, (Landow.George P).
Although
many of the important PRB members had died by 1900, their movement and styles
had been enough to leave an influential mark on art history throughout numerous
painters and writers through the last one hundred ten years,
(Stewart.Doug.Incurably Romantic.www.smithsonianmag.com.01, November 2009.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/preraph.html?c=y&page=4).
According
to Margaretta Frederick, of the Delaware Art Museum, the Pre-Raphaelite
movement had lost favor in the art community, along with most Victorian art,
for nearly sixty years until it began to make a comeback in the
nineteen-sixties as a popular and respected art form, (Stewart.Doug.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/preraph.html?c=y&page=4).
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, along with the support and help of John Ruskin,
had made an indelible mark upon the art world and art lovers alike for
generations to come. Their controversial nature and portrayal of classical literature
signified the PRB’s four main disciplines of what the spirit and embodiment of
art and poetry should be. This style, along with their mastery of painting live
figures in natural conditions, makes their style of art timeless classics that
continue to inspire. In a resurgence of popularity that has drawn large crowds
in Europe and the US alike, Pre-Raphaelite works now fetch large sums of money
in galleries, for example: “At auctions
in 2000, a Rossetti chalk drawing of Pandora sold for $3.9 million—five times its
high estimate—and a painting by late Pre-Raphaelite artist J. W. Waterhouse
fetched nearly $10 million, a record for a Victorian painting. The popularity
of Laura Ashley clothing in the 1970s and '80s and, more recently, the
hippie-Guinevere fashion designs of Anna Sui and Mary McFadden have been linked
to a renewed appreciation for the Pre-Raphaelite look.”, (Stewart.Doug.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/preraph.html?c=y&page=4).
With a colorful and exciting history behind the movement, the Pre-Raphaelites
and the original PRB will undoubtedly continue to grace the canvases and
imaginations of artists everywhere for quite some time to come.....
Works
Cited:
Hobson.Anthony.The
Pre-Raphaelites and the Society.2001-2009.The Pre-Raphaelite Society.01.
November 2009
http://www.pre-raphaelitesociety.org/society.htm....
Khalifa.Nehrain.The Pre-Raphaelites. 2008.Artyfacts.01,
November 2009
http://artyfacts.info/Raphael.htm
Landow.George
P. Pre-Raphaelites: An Introduction.June 2007. Brown University. 29, October
2009
http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/prb/1.html....
Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood Introduction. 1998-2009.GM
Gallery.01, November 2009
http://www.topofart.com/movements/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood/
Stewart.Doug.Incurably
Romantic.01, February 2007.Smithsonian Institution.01, November 2009
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/preraph.html?c=y&page=2
Stewart.Doug.Incurably
Romantic.01, February 2007.Smithsonian Institution.01, November 2009
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/preraph.html?c=y&page=4