1800-1900 Artistic Movements - The Pre-Raphaelites

'The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood' was a small group of Victorian artists. They came together in 1848 to form a new artistic style. They rejected the bland, idealised academic art of their day. Instead they tried to capture the simplicity and 'purity' of early Italian renaissance art. The Pre-Raphaelites were also interested in closely copying nature. Their paintings frequently include closely observed 'still life' details of the background objects or surrounding landscape. Their pictures were often based on stories, poems, plays or Christian themes.