The Dream of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Author: William Gaunt (British) [Author], Xiao Yu [Translator]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The Dream of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood tells the rise and fall of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Aestheticism, and Neoclassicism, collectively forming a panoramic view of the intellectual and social life of Britain and Europe from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. In The Dream of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Gaunt successfully portrays "some confused idealists in a utilitarian age," who, like Don Quixote, are filled with medieval chivalry, strange quests, and lofty ambitions. The renowned British art historian and writer William Gaunt (1900–1980) published his masterpiece The Dream of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1941. The original title of the book was The Tragedy of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Perhaps Gaunt wanted to emphasize the profound meaning of the ideal-real conflict of these "art knights" more, so he decided to omit the word "tragedy" from the title. However, the tragic tone of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's history and Gaunt's narrative remains heavy, making the entire book resemble a melancholic elegy. The numerous characters and events in the book are vividly depicted by the author's masterful pen, leaving readers today pondering after finishing the book. Beyond gaining a comprehensive understanding of a significant artistic movement in mid-to-late 19th-century Britain, it also offers deeper reflections on art and social reality, as well as art and life. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood can be said to be an art movement born from the fusion of realism, naturalism, and Aestheticism. There are three key figures in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais. At the time, this movement caused quite a stir in the relatively stagnant British art scene. As their name reflects, the members of PRB believed that British painting was in a state of decay, and they felt deeply despairing, hoping to regain the sincerity and simplicity of early Italian art. According to their views, it was Raphael's emergence that led to the replacement of this sincerity and simplicity by the cunning and rigidly formal academism. Therefore, they returned to the artistic concepts and techniques before Raphael to realize their ideals. In painting, PRB strongly disliked the "mechanical forms" of academic art and the trivial subjects of genre paintings. They chose religious or morally uplifting themes, attempting to remain as faithful as possible to the nature they wished to express by carefully observing their surroundings. At the same time, they also made choices in their painting techniques, creating works with a clean, bright, and sharp-focus style. PRB initially faced harsh criticism from the art critics until the famous critic John Ruskin intervened and became their supporter. However, by 1853, when success was just beginning, the group had already ceased to exist as a cohesive unit, with each member pursuing their own artistic paths.