The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design 1848-1900 is now at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. through May 19, 2013.
At the Tate Britain, the Show was titled as above.
Picture: Astarte Syriaca, 1877, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Victoria, here. On my recent trip to Washington DC, I met fellow writers Diane Gaston and Julie Halperson to tour the exhibition, have lunch and see what other fun we could have at the NGA.
Diane, Victoria, Julie at the Garden Cafe
Rotunda, NGA, Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC
We go almost every year, and we never run out of delicious meals or fascinating artwork. See my post about the collection of American Furniture of the Federal Period here.
You might have noted above that when the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition was shown at the Tate Britain in London, the title includes “The Victorian Avant Garde.” Why it was altered for the American run, I do not know, but the original title seems more apropos since there were several other movements in Victorian Art and Design from 1848-1900. You can access the Tate’s website on the Pre-Raphaelite Exhibition here.
Ophelia, 1851–52, by John Everett Millais (1829-1896)
According to the NGA, this exhibition is “The first major survey of the art of the Pre-Raphaelites to be shown in the United States features some 130 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative art objects. The young members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, formed in 1848, shook the art world of mid-19th-century Britain by rejecting traditional approaches to painting. Combining scientific precision, an innovative approach to subject matter, and brilliant, clear colors, Pre-Raphaelitism was Britain’s first avant-garde art movement.”
Laus Venens 1873-75, by Edward Coley Burne-Jones
Tyne & Wear Museums
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood formed in the mid-19th century by a groups of young artists who wanted to return the art of painting and associate art to the values of the early Quattrocento (Italy, 15th C). The “rebels” admired the colors and focus of the early Renaissance masters such as Botticelli and Bellini. Their principles extended into the decorative arts and even political movements, particularly those associated with the Arts and Crafts movement and William Morris’s designs.
William Morris Bed, Kelmscott Manor Collections Photo
Upon conclusion of the Washington D.C. show, the exhibition will travel to The State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, June 10–September 30, 2013.