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Which artistic ideals did the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood reject?
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Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti, photograph by Lewis Carroll, 1863
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848 as a reaction against the Royal Academy, whose historical painting the group considered artificial and unimaginative.1
Specifically, the Brotherhood rejected the following artistic ideals and practices:
- Academic Conventions: They opposed the established academic ideals of beauty and the triviality often found in early Victorian anecdotal paintings, such as those by Sir Edwin Landseer.12
- Post-Renaissance Influence: By adopting the name "Pre-Raphaelite," the group signaled their rejection of the artistic standards established during the High Renaissance, particularly those associated with Raphael. They viewed the art of that period as a departure from the direct, uncomplicated depiction of nature found in earlier Italian art.1
- Lack of Sincerity: The group sought to move away from what they perceived as a lack of moral seriousness in contemporary art, aiming instead to revive the deep religious feeling and unadorned directness characteristic of 15th-century Florentine and Sienese painting.1