Frederick Leighton English Victorian Neo-classicist Painter

Frederick Leighton

(1830 - 1896)

English Victorian Neo-classicist Painter, Chiefly associated with the second generation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB)

Artistically and stylistically influenced the following painters and art periods; Early Renaissance, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais

The term Pre-Raphaelites refers to High Renaissance artist Raphael. Some members of the PRB considered to Raphael's work utter drivel and condemned his immoral lifestyle. They took particular issue with Raphael's leering cherubs and erotic angels. Dante Rossetti and the other (PRB) artists embraced the artistic manner of Mediaeval and Early Renaissance painters. The (PRB) felt that painters of this time period infused their works with spiritual symbolism, godliness and sacred themes.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) was created in 1848. The most important artist was a striking and charismatic painter named Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Rossetti and his companions, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt, rejected Neoclassical and High Renaissance art. They sought to created a new artistic style using mythological, and literary imagery as the subjects of their art-works. Their paintings often contain shrouded visual symbols and private riddles.

The romantic Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painters wanted to change the world with their art, much like the hippies of the 1960s. They ridiculed the pompous conventionality of the Victorian era and sought a return to spirituality, courtliness, brotherly love and religious piousness. They rebelled against the rampant materialism and hypocrisy that was typical of the Victorian middle and upper classes. John Ruskin, famous Victorian Art Critic and major influence on the PRB warned "The picture which has the nobler and more numerous ideas, however awkwardly expressed, is a greater and a better picture than that which has the less noble and less numerous ideas, however beautifully expressed."

Famous Artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Movement

Dante Gabriel Rossetti
John Everett Millais
William Holman Hunt
Edward Robert Hughes
John William Godward
John William Waterhouse
Lord Frederic Leighton
Edward Burne-Jones
Walter Howell Deverell

☼☼☼☼☼

Key Descriptive Words and Phrases associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - Quattrocento art, mythology, the classical world, Pre-Raphaelite Journal, Margaret Gatty, medieval era, mermaids, Florentine art, spiritually significant,, The Germ, idealized biblical themes, Jewish folklore, 19th century, avant-garde movement, Raphael, Romantic poetry, Goethe, Old Testament stories, ethereal and foggy backgrounds, mythology, history painting, 1848, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, John Keats, Shakespeare, Coventry Patmore, Charles Dickens, Tennyson, romanticized landscapes, Christian symbolism, Cyclographic Club, Early Renaissance painting,

Search for Artists by Century

Important Painters Born in the 13th Century

Important Painters Born in the 14th Century

Important Painters Born in the 15th Century

Important Painters Born in the 16th Century

Important Painters Born in the 17th Century

Important Painters Born in the 18th Century

Important Painters Born in the 19th Century

☼☼☼☼☼

If you feel you have worthwhile information you would like to contribute we would love to hear from you. We collect essential biographical information and artist quotes from folks all over the globe and appreciate your participation. When submitting please, if possible, site the source and provide English translation. Email to historyofpainter@gmail.com