Pre-Raphaelites

"Genuine ideas to express": Secrets of a radical movement Sometimes considered the first avant-garde art movement, the Pre-Raphaelites rejected their era's dominant artistic theories for what they saw as a more spiritual, naturalistic and intensely personal approach. Fascinated by the romantic aspects of medieval culture and the vivid, jewel-like colors of Quattrocento art, the movement abhored the Classical poses and composition of Raphael and those influenced by him hence the group’s name and the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds.Founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the original Pre-Raphaelites were joined by William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner to form a seven-member "brotherhood". Its influence on many later British artists was extensive, and Rossetti's work is now seen as a precursor of the wider European Symbolist movement. This book examines the group's emergence, development, influence, and subsequent demise. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre Series features: a detailed illustrated introduction plus a timeline of the most important political, cultural and social events that took place during that perioda selection of the most important works of the epoch, each of which is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and with an interpretation of the respective work, plus a portrait and brief biography of the artistapproximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions