Pre-Raphaelite
Sumptuous colours, lavish patterns and tales of seduction, religion and mid-Victorian morals. Paintings by Ford Madox Brown, Holman Hunt and Millais, craft and design by William Burges and William de Morgan.
The Pre-Raphaelites in their time
The Pre-Raphaelites were Britain’s first and best-known radical art movement, a group of rebellious students from the Royal Academy who wanted to paint pictures of modern life. This gallery showcases Manchester’s world famous collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings; pictures that reflect key topics and issues of the time such as religion, morality and emigration.
The Pre-Raphaelites revolutionised the way paintings looked, using bright colours and minute detail. Along with Arts and Crafts designers such as William Morris, they promoted values of truth to materials and good workmanship, and took stylistic inspiration from the Middle Ages and the arts of the Middle East.
Key works usually on display in this gallery include:
- Ford Madox Brown Work *
- William Holman Hunt The Hireling Shepherd (In Gallery 6 from May 2011)
- William Holman Hunt The Light of the World
- John Everett Millais Autumn Leaves (In Gallery 6 from May 2011)
- Arthur Hughes Ophelia
- John Frederick Lewis The Coffee Bearer
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Bower Meadow (In Gallery 6 from May 2011)
- William Burges Chest of drawers and stand
- William Burges Escritoire
* This picture has travelled with the exhibition Ford Madox Brown: Pre-Raphaelite Pioneer to the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Belgium. It will then appear in the forthcoming exhibition at Tate Britain, London, Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde, from September 2012 to January 2013. We expect to welcome it back to our displays in February 2013.
The Pre-Raphaelite Experiment
From May 2011 for one year the Pre-Raphaelite Experiment has replaced the display Life and Landscape. Find out more about the Pre-Raphaelite experiment here.
If you are coming to see a particular work please contact the gallery in advance to ensure it is on display.