Parabola of Pre-Raphaelitism

In the mid-19th century, English painting found itself in a creative impasse, where strict academic conventions constricted artistic productivity. Three young students from the Royal Academy – William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), John Everett Millais (1829-1896) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) – responded to such limitations by founding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which sought to produce works that were considered to be genuine and free. Inspired by the theories of John Ruskin, who urged artists to ‘go to nature’, the artists’ work was colourful and imbued with symbolism and literary references. This exhibition dedicated to the Pre-Raphaelites brings together over 150 works in different media, including painting, sculpture, photography and the applied arts.