CONTEXTS OF CHRISTINA ROSSETI’S POEMS: Artistic Influences
What is the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
- The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of young British painters who banded
together in 1848 in reaction against what they conceived to be the unimaginative and
artificial historical painting of the Royal Academy.
- They purportedly sought to express a new moral seriousness and sincerity in their
works.
- They were inspired by Italian art of the 14th and 15th centuries.
- Their adoption of the name Pre-Raphaelite expressed their admiration for what they
saw as the direct and uncomplicated depiction of nature typical of Italian painting
before the High Renaissance and, particularly, before the time of Raphael.
- Although the Brotherhood’s active life lasted not quite five years, its influence on
painting in Britain, and ultimately on the decorative arts and interior design, was
profound.
- The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848 by three Royal Academy
students: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais, all
under 25 years of age.
- The painter James Collinson, the painter and critic F.G. Stephens, the sculptor
Thomas Woolner, and the critic William Michael Rossetti (Dante Gabriel’s brother)
joined them by invitation.
- The painters William Dyce and Ford Madox Brown, who acted in part as mentors to
the younger men, came to adapt their own work to the Pre-Raphaelite style.
Members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood:
1. Dante Gabriel Rosetti: Christina Rosetti’s brother and is an English poet, illustrator,
painter, and translator, and member of the Rossetti family.
2. William Holman Hunt: an English painter. His paintings were notable for their great attention
to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism.
3. John Everett Millais: was an English painter and illustrator. He was a child prodigy who, aged
eleven, became the youngest student to enter the Royal Academy Schools. The Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood was founded at his family home in London, at 83 Gower Street (now number 7).
4. James Collison: Was a Victorian painter.
5. F.G. Stephens: Was a British art critic, and one of the two 'non-artistic' members.
6. Thomas Woolner: Was an English sculptor and poet.
7. William Michael Rosetti: Dante Gabriel’s and Christina’s brother. English writer and critic.
8. William Dyce: Was a Scottish painter, who played a part in the formation of public art
education in the United Kingdom, and the South Kensington Schools system.
9. Ford Madox Brown: Painter. Was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for
his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style.
, How was Christina Rossetti Connected to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
- Her two brothers were part of the group.
- Her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, created art to illustrate poems such as her own
poem, Goblin market.
- Christina was the only woman to publish with the group, contributing poems to The
Germ (1850). Her sonnet, ‘In an Artist’s Studio’ (1856) sounded a prescient note of
caution about the dangers of Pre-Raphaelite worship of the female muse.
Significance Behind the Characters and Narratives the Pre-Raphaelites Represented in their
Paintings:
- Most of the Pre-Raphaelite characters are women whose beauty is based on real-life
mistresses and models of the English painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. His most
prominent muses were Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Alexa Wilding and Jane
Morris, all of whom conform to a certain feminine archetype, known to the
Pre-Raphaelites as the “stunner.”
- She’s a very tall woman depicted in a stiff pose with loose and long flowing red hair in
a variety of shades. Also, she’s got a long, straight nose, a strong jawline, sturdy,
long neck and full, pouty lips. Usually, she’s heavy-lidded with a dreamy, distant look
in her eyes.
- Her face shows a melancholy, yet calm expression with a wistful gaze that seems as
if you’ve just caught her in the middle of an otherworldly experience.
- Her ethereal beauty and billowing garments, occasionally in a flowery setting, makes
her look like a lone maiden from a mediaeval fairy tale.
How do you think Pre-Raphaelite Art Influenced her Writing?
- Influenced by her brother's leadership in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Christina
Rossetti's poetry adheres to the ideals of the movement.
- While abundantly rich in detail, her poetry strives for clarity in meaning through its
relatively simple rhyme schemes and language.
- Like the Pre-Raphaelites, she draws from literary sources of the past.
What is the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
- The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of young British painters who banded
together in 1848 in reaction against what they conceived to be the unimaginative and
artificial historical painting of the Royal Academy.
- They purportedly sought to express a new moral seriousness and sincerity in their
works.
- They were inspired by Italian art of the 14th and 15th centuries.
- Their adoption of the name Pre-Raphaelite expressed their admiration for what they
saw as the direct and uncomplicated depiction of nature typical of Italian painting
before the High Renaissance and, particularly, before the time of Raphael.
- Although the Brotherhood’s active life lasted not quite five years, its influence on
painting in Britain, and ultimately on the decorative arts and interior design, was
profound.
- The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848 by three Royal Academy
students: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, and John Everett Millais, all
under 25 years of age.
- The painter James Collinson, the painter and critic F.G. Stephens, the sculptor
Thomas Woolner, and the critic William Michael Rossetti (Dante Gabriel’s brother)
joined them by invitation.
- The painters William Dyce and Ford Madox Brown, who acted in part as mentors to
the younger men, came to adapt their own work to the Pre-Raphaelite style.
Members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood:
1. Dante Gabriel Rosetti: Christina Rosetti’s brother and is an English poet, illustrator,
painter, and translator, and member of the Rossetti family.
2. William Holman Hunt: an English painter. His paintings were notable for their great attention
to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism.
3. John Everett Millais: was an English painter and illustrator. He was a child prodigy who, aged
eleven, became the youngest student to enter the Royal Academy Schools. The Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood was founded at his family home in London, at 83 Gower Street (now number 7).
4. James Collison: Was a Victorian painter.
5. F.G. Stephens: Was a British art critic, and one of the two 'non-artistic' members.
6. Thomas Woolner: Was an English sculptor and poet.
7. William Michael Rosetti: Dante Gabriel’s and Christina’s brother. English writer and critic.
8. William Dyce: Was a Scottish painter, who played a part in the formation of public art
education in the United Kingdom, and the South Kensington Schools system.
9. Ford Madox Brown: Painter. Was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for
his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style.
, How was Christina Rossetti Connected to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
- Her two brothers were part of the group.
- Her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, created art to illustrate poems such as her own
poem, Goblin market.
- Christina was the only woman to publish with the group, contributing poems to The
Germ (1850). Her sonnet, ‘In an Artist’s Studio’ (1856) sounded a prescient note of
caution about the dangers of Pre-Raphaelite worship of the female muse.
Significance Behind the Characters and Narratives the Pre-Raphaelites Represented in their
Paintings:
- Most of the Pre-Raphaelite characters are women whose beauty is based on real-life
mistresses and models of the English painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti. His most
prominent muses were Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Alexa Wilding and Jane
Morris, all of whom conform to a certain feminine archetype, known to the
Pre-Raphaelites as the “stunner.”
- She’s a very tall woman depicted in a stiff pose with loose and long flowing red hair in
a variety of shades. Also, she’s got a long, straight nose, a strong jawline, sturdy,
long neck and full, pouty lips. Usually, she’s heavy-lidded with a dreamy, distant look
in her eyes.
- Her face shows a melancholy, yet calm expression with a wistful gaze that seems as
if you’ve just caught her in the middle of an otherworldly experience.
- Her ethereal beauty and billowing garments, occasionally in a flowery setting, makes
her look like a lone maiden from a mediaeval fairy tale.
How do you think Pre-Raphaelite Art Influenced her Writing?
- Influenced by her brother's leadership in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Christina
Rossetti's poetry adheres to the ideals of the movement.
- While abundantly rich in detail, her poetry strives for clarity in meaning through its
relatively simple rhyme schemes and language.
- Like the Pre-Raphaelites, she draws from literary sources of the past.
