The group of young painters and writers who coalesced into the Pre-Raphaelite movement in the middle years of the nineteenth century became hugely influential in the development not only of literature and painting, but also more generally of art and design. Though their reputation has fluctuated over the years, their achievements are now recognised and their style enjoyed and studied widely. This volume explores the lives and works of the central figures in the group: among others, the Rossettis, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Ford Madox Brown, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. This is the first book to provide a general introduction to the Pre-Raphaelite movement that integrates its literary and visual art forms. The Companion explains what made the Pre-Raphaelite style unique in painting, poetry, drawing and prose.

Pre-Raphaelitism's influence during the long nineteenth century was far-reaching, affecting artistic and literary thought in places, media, and times far removed from its origins in 1848 London. Worldwide Pre-Raphaelitism examines the movement's development beyond England, from the continental "immortals" glorified by the nascent Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to later reactions against and in sympathy with the ideals of the movement after it had ended. This collection of essays by art historians, literary critics, fashion historians, women's studies scholars, and independent researchers from around the world enhances our understanding of the global impact of Pre-Raphaelitism on the art-historical and literary developments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This is the first comprehensive history devoted to the art of Ford Madox Brown (1821-93), in which his paintings establish him as a major figure in the most important new art movement of Victorian England, Pre-Raphaelitism. The book presents a new explanation of the development and basic aims of Pre-Raphaelite art as a whole and offers a revealing discussion of the power and importance of the humor and negative spirit that run throughout Brown's work. It also ties Brown's realist approach to British decorative taste at midcentury and redefines his place in the Aesthetic Movement, a cultural trend that dominated the latter half of the nineteenth century. In addition, the artist's socialist leanings and nationalistic tendencies, expressed in depictions of workers, children, women, and religious scenes, are set out more fully than in any previous literature on the artist.

This unique collection demonstrates the profoundly interdisciplinary nature of Pre-Raphaelitism, and contains contains whole texts and key extracts from key Pre-Raphaelite figures such as William Morris, and from less well-known figures.