LECTURE WITH BARRIE GARNHAM
The Pre-Raphaelites, Sex and Revolution in Victorian England
Thursday 31st October, 2019
7.15pm for 7.30pm start
The lecture will last approximately 2 hours including Q & A
£15.00 including a glass of wine
The Pre-Raphaelites were a secret society of young artists (and one writer), founded in London in 1848. The name Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood referred to the groups’ opposition to the Royal Academy’s promotion of the Renaissance master Raphael. They were also in revolt also against the triviality of the immensely popular genre painting of time. Inspired by the theories of John Ruskin who urged artists to ‘go to nature’, they believed in an art of serious subjects treated with maximum realism. Their principal themes were initially religious, but they also used subjects from literature and poetry, particularly those dealing with love and death. They also explored modern social problems. After initial heavy opposition the Pre-Raphaelites became highly influential, with a second phase of the movement from about 1860, inspired particularly by the work of Rossetti, making major contribution to symbolism.