Dante Gabriel Rossetti once said, “beauty without the beloved is a like a sword through the heart.” Exhausted of the Royal Academy, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti decided to break away, and drew inspiration off of Shakespeare, the Bible, Ancient Mythology, along with other multiple sources of inspiration. Formed in 1848, the main focuses were on nature and bright colors. The Pre-Raphaelite movement was like the re-birth of the Renaissance Era, which approximately began in 1300. Invented by a group of 3 people, the movement focused on poetry and writing as well as paintings, an accurate view of nature, and depicted physiological and social tension, religion and color.
The Pre-Raphaelite movement focused
Key factors in the importance of Pre-Raphaelite painting was the emphasis on painting literary themes, involving romance, and developing psychological and social tension. Millais’ Isabella casts off the influence of William Etty, as well as the traditional composition, lighting, and detail of Victorian standards “Hunt, later repudiated the notion that the movement aimed at any kind of ‘revival’ of early Renaissance styles (Prettejohn 19).” The group focused on more significant subjects such as medieval tales, poetry, and religion, while emphasizing color and psychological stresses. The group individualized as they aged, with Rossetti concentrating more on mystical themes and individuality, and Hunt working towards realism, but with moralistic and modern themes. “In elevating color as a sensual element in painting these painters risked affronting those who associated color with what was disparaged as passionate, fleshy, and feminine in art - a lack of control and emotional excess in contrast to the disciplined rigor of sound draughtsmanship (Prettejohn 135).” Throughout the Pre-Raphaelite movement, art was focused on realism, while others strived away from that, and did more mystical like paintings, like