Pre-Raphaelitism was one of the great revolutionary movements of nineteenth-century British art, rejecting both the academic dryness of classicism and the vapid sentimentality of so-called genre painting. Instead, using subjects taken from modern life, medievalism, and literature, Pre-Raphaelitism sought to explore more contemporary issues, including gender, marriage, sex, and the fulfillment of love.
The Pre-Raphaelite Dream showcases the range, virtuosity, and vision of the artists aligned with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Familiar, iconic pictures such as Rossetti's Proserpine, Holman Hunt's The Awakening Conscience and Millais's Mariana, are brought together with undeservedly less well-known paintings by the major artists, including Holman Hunt's wonderful, jewel-like early portrait of Frederic Stephens and his haunting and ambiguous canvas, The Ship. Exceptional but rarely exhibited Pre-Raphaelite drawings, including major Rossetti and Bume-Jones works on paper that are unique to the Tate Collection, are also highlighted, as are a small group of prints.
The rich flowering of Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics outside the original Brotherhood is explored, and the movement placed in its fuller historical and social context through the examination of less famous artists and works by artists who were friends or followers of the Brotherhood members. This includes some outstanding pictures by artists including Simeon Solomon, Spencer Stanhope, Arthur Hughes, and Robert Martineau; and excellent works by often neglected members of the original Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Thomas Woolner and Frederic Stephens.