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The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
- GenresArtHistoryNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1942
About the author
William Gaunt
100 books2 followersWilliam Gaunt (1900–1980) was a British artist and art historian.
After serving briefly with the Durham Light Infantry in the First World War, Gaunt went on to Worcester College, Oxford, and graduated with honours. He completed an MA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and found work as a painter, art historian, art critic, novelist and travel book writer.
During the Second World War he was commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee to paint London city bomb sites.
Gaunt was drawn to the Pre-Raphaelites, whom he considered to be underappreciated, and wrote his most enduring book on the subject, The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy (1942), followed by further studies of Victorian art, The Aesthetic Adventure (1945) and Victorian Olympus (1952).
After serving briefly with the Durham Light Infantry in the First World War, Gaunt went on to Worcester College, Oxford, and graduated with honours. He completed an MA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and found work as a painter, art historian, art critic, novelist and travel book writer.
During the Second World War he was commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee to paint London city bomb sites.
Gaunt was drawn to the Pre-Raphaelites, whom he considered to be underappreciated, and wrote his most enduring book on the subject, The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy (1942), followed by further studies of Victorian art, The Aesthetic Adventure (1945) and Victorian Olympus (1952).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 1, 2020
A queer group biography published in 1942, Gaunt starts with the Argument, a very loose overview of what he is to write about, which is to be the disagreements, disappointments and failures of the primary members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in later life, when compared to their original ideals.
The first short chapter therefore introduces Millais, Holman Hunt, Rossetti and very briefly other members of the PRB and Ford Madox Brown.
Gaunt then chats on, discussing Millais’ meeting with Ruskin (with Ruskin’s wife subsequently divorcing Ruskin and marrying Millais), Rossetti’s meeting with Lizzie Siddal, Woolner’s emigration to Australia, Hunt’s travels to the Holy Land to paint The Scapegoat.
Then comes Rossetti’s meeting with Burne Jones and Morris, with a reinvigoration of the PRB ideals, however vague and dreamlike these are.
All told in an informal, colloquial fashion, assuming familiarity with the paintings made by the various artists.
Although a work of its time, which I initially felt would deter me from reading the whole book, it is charming, anecdotal and covers the whole of the artists later lives. For example there are fascinating details of Holman Hunt speaking to Charles Dickens about the financial aspects of negotiating the expected revenue from The Finding of Christ in the Temple , where Dickens did not look at the painting! (Page 101).
I found amusing the references to the bestselling author Hall Caine, who befriended Rossetti at the end of his life and rushed out his Recollections of Rossetti. Since this was written in 1942 Hall Caine has been mostly forgotten, but Rossetti and the PRB are still relatively well known.
This is not an introduction to the Pre-Raphaelites, as it assumes a knowledge of the artists’ works, but for those familiar with the paintings, it is a wonderful short overview of the movement as a whole.
The first short chapter therefore introduces Millais, Holman Hunt, Rossetti and very briefly other members of the PRB and Ford Madox Brown.
Gaunt then chats on, discussing Millais’ meeting with Ruskin (with Ruskin’s wife subsequently divorcing Ruskin and marrying Millais), Rossetti’s meeting with Lizzie Siddal, Woolner’s emigration to Australia, Hunt’s travels to the Holy Land to paint The Scapegoat.
Then comes Rossetti’s meeting with Burne Jones and Morris, with a reinvigoration of the PRB ideals, however vague and dreamlike these are.
All told in an informal, colloquial fashion, assuming familiarity with the paintings made by the various artists.
Although a work of its time, which I initially felt would deter me from reading the whole book, it is charming, anecdotal and covers the whole of the artists later lives. For example there are fascinating details of Holman Hunt speaking to Charles Dickens about the financial aspects of negotiating the expected revenue from The Finding of Christ in the Temple , where Dickens did not look at the painting! (Page 101).
I found amusing the references to the bestselling author Hall Caine, who befriended Rossetti at the end of his life and rushed out his Recollections of Rossetti. Since this was written in 1942 Hall Caine has been mostly forgotten, but Rossetti and the PRB are still relatively well known.
This is not an introduction to the Pre-Raphaelites, as it assumes a knowledge of the artists’ works, but for those familiar with the paintings, it is a wonderful short overview of the movement as a whole.
July 12, 2019
An interesting look at the lives of the group of artists who challenged the artistic establishment and revolutionised Victorian art.
March 4, 2014
This book was very well-written and full of good information on the Pre-Raphaelites. I had two big problems with it, though. One was that it was kind of vague and difficult to follow. What was Rossetti's relationship with Jane Morris? Who was Whistler? What made Rossetti Pre-Raphaelite but not Frederic Leighton? And just how does one define Pre-Raphaelitism anyway? I know there are not necessarily clear-cut answers to many of these questions, but I think I would have been completely confused and lost reading this book if I didn't already know a little bit about its subject.
The second problem was the author's agnostic and socialist leanings--clearly most interested in Rossetti and in Morris, he continually sneers at Holman Hunt and Millais. Gaunt obviously believes that Millais sold out, but his explanation of just why people thought the PRB were so transgressive, what it was about Millais's later pictures that made them non-Pre-Raphaelite, and why it was so bad of him to make good sales, was either nonexistent or vague.
Otherwise, a helpful overview of the history.
The second problem was the author's agnostic and socialist leanings--clearly most interested in Rossetti and in Morris, he continually sneers at Holman Hunt and Millais. Gaunt obviously believes that Millais sold out, but his explanation of just why people thought the PRB were so transgressive, what it was about Millais's later pictures that made them non-Pre-Raphaelite, and why it was so bad of him to make good sales, was either nonexistent or vague.
Otherwise, a helpful overview of the history.
June 9, 2019
This book is very informative but I think it is intended for people who already know a lot on the subject. It strays off in many directions, which it would presumably not do if it were for beginners. Still, I learnt a lot from it, particularly about the family backgrounds of the artists.
June 10, 2017
". . . the Pre-Raphaelites invented a time and place of their own in which to live and work", and in the process produced many beautiful works of art that continue to impress and inspire. I have long been attracted to the works of the Pre-Raphaelites and intrigued by the life stories of the members of this Brotherhood, so I truly enjoyed gaining a much better understanding of both these elements. It is a tragic story in many ways, full of failed hopes and ambitions, failed relationships, failed health and failure to stay true to the dream. And I think that this is something that we all experience in our own lives in some way or another, and it means that it is a story that we can all relate to.
The book was generally an easy read, though I did find on occasions that Gaunt's prose was convoluted or went off a tangent. The coloured plates of some of the PRB's artworks made a beautiful addition to the fascinating text, and it would have been nice if there were even more. (Having said that, even if there had been one on every single page it probably still wouldn't have been enough!)
Spattered throughout the book are delightfully quotable gems, and I will end with my favourite, which comes from William Morris:
'Art is an expression of pleasure in labor.'
The book was generally an easy read, though I did find on occasions that Gaunt's prose was convoluted or went off a tangent. The coloured plates of some of the PRB's artworks made a beautiful addition to the fascinating text, and it would have been nice if there were even more. (Having said that, even if there had been one on every single page it probably still wouldn't have been enough!)
Spattered throughout the book are delightfully quotable gems, and I will end with my favourite, which comes from William Morris:
'Art is an expression of pleasure in labor.'
January 3, 2020
A questionable text (due largely to its age) but a gorgeous edition from the Folio Society.
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November 26, 2022John Brett The Stone Breaker? No.
August 30, 2019
Pienso que los Pre-Rafaelitas fue uno de los primeros grupos de literatos y pintores que se unieron para formar una sociedad, y dar a conocer sus obras. El más famoso como pintor, considerado genio infantil, fue Millais y, sin embargo, el más conocido mundialmente fue Dante Gabriel Rossetti por su vida disoluta y desplantes, sin importar que fuera tan mediocre como pintor y poeta.
Quien no quiera leer alguno de los muchos libros de estos Románticos puede buscar la serie inglesa sobre el tema.
Quien no quiera leer alguno de los muchos libros de estos Románticos puede buscar la serie inglesa sobre el tema.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews