Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in John Millais's parents' house on Gower Street, London in 1848. At the first meeting, the painters John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Holman Hunt were present. Hunt and Millais were students at the Royal Academy of Arts and had met in another loose association, the Cyclographic Club. By autumn, four more members—painters James Collinson and Frederic George Stephens, Rossetti's brother and critic William Michael Rossetti, and sculptor Thomas Woolner—had joined to form a seven-member-strong brotherhood. Ford Madox Brown was invited to join, but the more senior artist remained independent, though he supported the group and contributed to The Germ. The PRB intended to keep the existence of the brotherhood secret from members of the Royal Academy. The brotherhood's early doctrines, as defined by William Michael Rossetti, were expressed in four declarations: to have genuine ideas to express; to study Nature attentively, so as to know how to express them; to sympathise with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, to the exclusion of what is conventional and self-parading and learned by rote; and most indispensable of all, to produce thoroughly good pictures and statues. Influenced by Romanticism, the members thought freedom and responsibility were inseparable. They were particularly fascinated by medieval culture, believing it to possess a spiritual and creative integrity that had been lost in later eras. In its early stages, the Brotherhood believed its two interests—medievalism and realism—were consistent, but in later years the movement divided: the realists were led by Hunt and Millais, while the medievalists were led by Rossetti and his followers, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. The split was never absolute, since both factions believed that art was essentially spiritual in character. First exhibitions of Pre-Raphaelite work occurred in 1849. Both Millais's Isabella (1848–1849) and Holman Hunt's Rienzi (1848–1849) were exhibited at the Royal Academy. Rossetti's The Girlhood of Mary Virgin was shown at a Free Exhibition on Hyde Park Corner. Between January and April 1850, the group published The Germ, edited by William Rossetti. In 1850, the Brotherhood became the subject of controversy after the exhibition of Millais's painting Christ in the House of His Parents was considered blasphemous by many reviewers, notably Charles Dickens. After the controversy, James Collinson resigned from the Brotherhood. The remaining members met to discuss whether he should be replaced but were unable to make a decision. From that point the group disbanded, though its influence continued. By 1853 the original PRB had virtually dissolved, with only Holman Hunt remaining true to its stated aims.

Reader's Guide

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's significance lies in its challenge to academic art conventions of the 19th century. By rejecting the mechanistic approach of Mannerist artists and the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds—whom they called "Sir Sloshua"—they advocated for a return to intense colours, abundant detail, and complex compositions inspired by Quattrocento Italian art. Their emphasis on brilliance of colour was a reaction to the excessive use of bitumen by earlier British artists such as Reynolds, David Wilkie and Benjamin Robert Haydon, which produced unstable areas of muddy darkness. Hunt and Millais developed a technique of painting in thin glazes of pigment over a wet white ground in the hope that the colours would retain jewel-like transparency and clarity. The group associated their work with John Ruskin, an English critic whose influences were driven by his religious background. Christian themes were abundant. The group's legacy includes the split between realists and medievalists, which shaped subsequent movements. After 1856, Dante Gabriel Rossetti became an inspiration for the medievalising strand. Artists influenced by the brotherhood include John Brett, Philip Calderon, Arthur Hughes, Gustave Moreau, Evelyn De Morgan, Frederic Sandys, and John William Waterhouse. Ford Madox Brown, who was associated with them from the beginning, is often seen as most closely adopting the Pre-Raphaelite principles. One follower who developed his own distinct style was Aubrey Beardsley, who was pre-eminently influenced by Burne-Jones. Despite the Brotherhood's short existence—about five years—its principles continued through followers like Marie Spartali Stillman and later adherents including Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. The controversy over Millais's Christ in the House of His Parents highlighted tensions between religious art and public morality, while John Ruskin's support helped legitimize their approach. The group's devotion to nature and rejection of conventional methods left a lasting impact on British art.

Did You Know?

• The group's name came from their belief that Raphael's Classical poses and elegant compositions had been a corrupting influence on academic teaching of art.
• They called Sir Joshua Reynolds 'Sir Sloshua'—'sloshy' meant anything lax or scamped in the process of painting.
• Hunt and Millais developed a technique of painting thin glazes over a wet white ground to achieve jewel-like transparency and clarity.
• The Brotherhood published a literary magazine called The Germ between January and April 1850, edited by William Michael Rossetti.
• Charles Dickens called Millais's painting Christ in the House of His Parents blasphemous, leading to James Collinson's resignation from the group.

Founding & Structure

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in John Millais's parents' house on Gower Street, London in 1848. What began as a gathering of three painters—John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Holman Hunt—grew by autumn into a seven-member collective when James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens, William Michael Rossetti, and sculptor Thomas Woolner joined the fold. The group was partly modelled on the Nazarene movement. Hunt and Millais had already known each other through the Cyclographic Club, a sketching society connected to the Royal Academy, while Rossetti had become a pupil of Ford Madox Brown in 1848. At that date, Rossetti and Hunt shared lodgings in Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia, Central London. The Brotherhood operated under a strict rule of secrecy toward Royal Academy members. Ford Madox Brown was invited to join, but the more senior artist remained independent while still contributing to The Germ. Beyond the core seven, figures like Charles Allston Collins and Alexander Munro moved in close orbit. Later followers of the principles of the Brotherhood included Edward Burne-Jones, John William Waterhouse, William Morris, and Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Aesthetic Philosophy & the Rejection of Convention

The Brotherhood's aesthetic manifesto, articulated by William Michael Rossetti, rested on four declarations: to have genuine ideas to express; to study Nature attentively, so as to know how to express them; to sympathise with what is direct and serious and heartfelt in previous art, to the exclusion of what is conventional and self-parading and learned by rote; and most indispensable of all, to produce thoroughly good pictures and statues. These principles were deliberately non-dogmatic, since the brotherhood wished to emphasise the personal responsibility of individual artists to determine their own ideas and methods of depiction. The group's name itself was a pointed rejection of Raphael, whose Classical poses and elegant compositions they viewed as a corrupting influence on academic teaching. They also objected to the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, founder of the English Royal Academy of Arts, whom they called "Sir Sloshua". To the Pre-Raphaelites, according to William Michael Rossetti, "sloshy" meant "anything lax or scamped in the process of painting ... and hence ... any thing or person of a commonplace or conventional kind". Their positive model was Quattrocento Italian art, prized for its abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions. Christian themes were abundant, and the group associated their work with John Ruskin, an English critic whose influences were driven by his religious background. The members also embraced medieval culture, believing it held a spiritual and creative integrity that later eras had lost. In 1848, Rossetti and Hunt made a list of "Immortals", artistic heroes whom they admired, especially from literature, including Keats and Tennyson.

Technical Innovation & the Pursuit of Luminous Color

A defining technical achievement of the early Brotherhood was their pursuit of luminous, jewel-like colour. Hunt and Millais developed a method of laying thin glazes of pigment over a wet white ground, a technique designed to preserve the brilliance and transparency they admired in Quattrocento painting. This approach was a direct rebuke to the heavy use of bitumen by earlier British masters—Reynolds, David Wilkie, Benjamin Robert Haydon—whose work produced what the Pre-Raphaelites despised: unstable patches of muddy darkness. Their canvases demanded sharp focus and meticulous detail, especially in rendering the natural world using bright and sharp-focus techniques on a white canvas. The group's emphasis on brilliance of colour was a reaction to the excessive use of bitumen by earlier British artists. The group continued to accept the concepts of history painting and mimesis, imitation of nature, as central to the purpose of art. Hunt had started painting The Eve of St. Agnes based on Keats's poem of the same name in 1848, though it was not completed until 1867.

Public Life, Publications & the Internal Fracture

The Brotherhood's public life was brief but concentrated. Their first exhibitions arrived in 1849: Millais's Isabella (1848–1849) and Hunt's Rienzi (1848–1849) appeared at the Royal Academy, while Rossetti's The Girlhood of Mary Virgin was shown at a Free Exhibition on Hyde Park Corner. As a mark of collective identity, every member signed works with their name alongside the initials "PRB". Between January and April 1850, the group published a literary magazine called The Germ, edited by William Rossetti, which published poetry by the Rossettis, Woolner, and Collinson and essays on art and literature by associates such as Coventry Patmore. The group's debates were recorded in the Pre-Raphaelite Journal. In 1850, the Brotherhood became the subject of controversy after the exhibition of Millais's painting Christ in the House of His Parents was considered blasphemous by many reviewers, notably Charles Dickens. Dickens considered Millais's Mary to be ugly. Millais had used his sister-in-law, Mary Hodgkinson, as the model for Mary. After the controversy, James Collinson resigned from the Brotherhood due to his belief that it was bringing the Christian religion into disrepute. The remaining members met to discuss whether he should be replaced by Charles Allston Collins or Walter Howell Deverell, but were unable to make a decision. From that point the group disbanded, though its influence continued. By 1853 the original PRB had virtually dissolved, with only Holman Hunt remaining true to its stated aims. The brotherhood found support from the critic John Ruskin, who praised its devotion to nature and rejection of conventional methods of composition. He wrote to The Times defending their work and subsequently met them. Initially, he favoured Millais, who travelled to Scotland in the summer of 1853 with Ruskin and Ruskin's wife, Effie Gray. The marriage was later annulled on grounds of non-consummation, leaving Effie free to marry Millais. Millais began to move away from the Pre-Raphaelite style after his marriage, and Ruskin ultimately attacked his later works.