Pre-Raphaelite

ラファエル前派 / 1848–1900s / Style / Fin de Siècle Art

An English brotherhood that discarded the formulas established after Raphael and tried to return to the clarity of the early Renaissance. Transparent paint over a white ground made the color uncannily sharp, and because every detail is worked to the same degree, the eye has nowhere to rest.

Pre-Raphaelite — John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1852 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1852 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Pre-Raphaelite — William Holman Hunt, The Awakening Conscience, 1853 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — William Holman Hunt, The Awakening Conscience, 1853 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Pre-Raphaelite — Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Proserpine, 1874 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Proserpine, 1874 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

Brilliant color raised from a white ground
Equal density of description in every corner
Medieval and literary subjects
Botanical accuracy in natural things

Best used for

Making an image that overwhelms by density
Letting detail carry the story as symbol

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Dictionary entry

Type: Decorative faces drawn from medieval manuscripts, never for body text.
Composition: Leave no empty margin and spread density across the whole surface.
Material: Lay transparent color over a white ground to raise the saturation.
Caution: Collecting medievalist signs only yields an antique. The density of description has to engage with the subject.
Further study: The founding of the brotherhood in 1848 and the PRB signature / Ruskin's defense / The continuity with William Morris

Related entries

Arts and Crafts (アーツ・アンド・クラフツ)Shared effects: Intimacy / Luxury / Nostalgia.Compare Pre-Raphaelite and Arts and Crafts
Art Nouveau (アール・ヌーヴォー)Shared effects: Luxury / Intimacy.Compare Pre-Raphaelite and Art Nouveau

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Link: https://indexstyle.org/styles/pre-raphaelite
Markdown: [Pre-Raphaelite — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/pre-raphaelite)
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