the art of the pre raphaelites elizabeth prettejohn

But in asserting that PR's way of combining literature and art history has been neglected up to now, she curiously ignores forty years of the Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies, which has done so much to promote interdisciplinary scholarship on its topic.Īnyone teaching a course on the Pre-Raphaelites knows how hard it is to find an adequate textbook, especially if the focus is on art history or equally divided between art and literature. Here, as in all recent defenses of Pre-Raphaelitism (PR), she examines the claim that its artists should be considered modern or even avant-garde, a point first argued by late Victorians disputing French artists' claims to exemplify modernism. She also considers the writings of the Brotherhood in The Germ, the journal's reception, and the ways in which Rossetti's reputation exemplified the fortunes of the group in the twentieth century. In her introduction to this volume, Elizabeth Prettejohn-author of The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites (2000)- surveys the polemical name of the initial Brotherhood, its historical self-consciousness, its determination to start from first principles (characteristic of modernist movements), and its intertwining of literature and art history. From the BBC series to texts and events such as the current Tate Britain exhibition soon coming to our own National Gallery, they are as popular among the general public as among scholars now re-examining the movement's myths, developments, and major artists. The Pre-Raphaelites are enjoying a surge in popularity.

THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO THE PRE-RAPHAELITESĬlick here for a PDF version. THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO THE PRE-RAPHAELITES by Elizabeth Prettejohn, Reviewed by Julie Codell

The art of the pre raphaelites elizabeth prettejohn