– It was established by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.
– It was a group of artists active in the middle of the nineteenth century. Their goal was to resist modern art conventions by a return to the pre-Renaissance art forms involving vivid colours and details.
– They wanted to replace the conventionalism of the contemporary poetry, they tried to achieve verisimilitude (imitative representation of the object discussed) in their works.
– They found their models in Italy, in the early Renaissance artists, especially in Raphael (but only in Raphael‘s pre-Roman period; this also led to the creation of the group‘s name).
– They used themes from classical mythology, legends and Dante‘s works- these themes were dealt with in a pathetic style with an element of naivety- that is why the art of the pre-Raphaelite seems too sentimental.
– Many of their works were inspired also by Keats- they said that he was painting with words and that his poetry was charged with magic.
– Their opinion was that the creed had to be lived up to and the technical expertise is of minor importance. The Brotherhood was publishing a magazine called The Germ (there were only 4 issues published in 1850).