Art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Quiz

Answer:

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) was originally a secret society formed to oppose the view of the Royal Academy that Raphael was the ideal to which every other artist should aspire. The name was chosen to show the group's opposition to this narrow definition of art. The three most important, and founder, members were Rossetti, Hunt and Millais. Burne-Jones was a later (and younger) member, joining around ten years later, when the movement was already past its heydey. William Morris, better known as a designer, was also a member and his wallpaper designs demonstrate the influence of the PRB.

The paintings listed are three by each of the four artists. Rossetti's are 'Helen of Troy' from 1863, 'Proserpine' (1874, although there are at least seven versions) and 'The Blessed Damozel' (1870s, again more than one version). The PRB used a fairly narrow group of models for their works. Helen was Annie Miller, Proserpine was Jane Morris (wife of William) and the damozel was Alexa Wilding. 'Helen of Troy' can be seen in Hamburg, while one version of 'Proserpine' is on display at Tate Britain with another in Birmingham. One version of 'The Blessed Damozel' is at Harvard while a smaller version is in the Lady Lever Art Gallery on Wirral. All three paintings are typical of the PRB style and show the woman looking at the viewer with a primarily head and shoulders pose.

Rossetti was also a poet, as was his sister Christina, and often wrote poems about his paintings. Wilding was the model for at least fifteen of Rossetti's creations and Jane Morris inspired at least twenty pictures among the Brotherhood.

The contributions from Holman Hunt are 'The Scapegoat' (two versions between 1854 and 1856), 'The Light of the World' (two versions in 1850s) and 'May Morning on Magdalen Tower' (1890). Hunt painted two versions of 'The Scapegoat', based on the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. The goat was chosen to take away the sins of the people, with a red cloth tied around its horns, before being driven off. Version one is at the Manchester Art Gallery and has brighter colours than the second, which is considered the finished version. This is on display at the Lady Lever Gallery. 'The Light of the World' is another painting to take its inspiration from the Bible. It depicts Jesus trying to gain access through a neglected door which has no handle to open it. Hunt described the door as representing 'the closed mind' of men. There are three versions - the first, from 1854, is at Keble College in Oxford and another, completed in the 1850s and smaller, is at Manchester Art Gallery. Hunt painted a final version in 1904 and this is kept at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

The final Holman Hunt work listed is 'May Morning on Magdalen Tower'. This 1890 painting is of choristers, at Magdalen College in Oxford, who are performing a hymn at dawn as the sun rises. The combination of a religious and pagan ceremony, to commemorate May Day, is said to have appealed to Hunt. Lord Leverhulme bought the painting in 1919 and it is another of the PRB paintings which can be seen at the Lady Lever Gallery.

'Morgan Le Fay' (1862), 'The Beguiling of Merlin' (1870s) and 'The Golden Stairs' (1880) are all paintings by Burne-Jones. The first two are among several paintings based on the Arthurian legends which Burne-Jones created. He is reported as having been obsessed with these mythological beings. 'Morgan le Fay' in the painting is depicted standing alone looking at the viewer of the painting. It is owned by the Leighton House Museum in London. Another painting inspired by this myth is 'The Beguiling of Merlin', which is also in the Lady Lever Gallery. The picture shows Merlin being trapped by Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, who is holding a book of spells. The final Burne-Jones work listed is 'The Golden Stairs. which was first exhibited in 1880. It shows a group of female musicians descending a gold staircase and was bequeathed to Tate Britain where it is still on display in the twenty-first century.

The final three, by Millais, are 'Ophelia' (1852), 'The Black Brunswicker' (1860) and 'The Eve of St Agnes (1863). The first may well be his most famous work, depicting the tragic character from 'Hamlet' as she drowns. The model for the painting was Elizabeth Siddal, who later married Rossetti before dying tragically young. The painting is owned by Tate Britain. 'The Black Brunswicker' depicts a couple who are on the verge of parting. The man is a soldier, in full uniform, while the woman is in a contrasting pale dress. This is another of the PRB paintings on display at the Lady Lever. 'The Eve of St Agnes' used Millais' own wife, Effie, as the model, showing a young woman preparing for bed. It derived its inspiration from the John Keats' poem of the same name and the picture is owned by London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

The incorrect options are 'Whistlejacket' by George Stubbs, 'Titania Sleeping' by Richard Dadd, 'The Monarch of the Glen' by Edwin Landseer', 'Flatford Mill' by John Constable, 'The Blue Boy' by Thomas Gainsborough and 'A Bigger Splash' by David Hockney. None of these was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and in most instances weren't even contemporaries.