BEYOND THE BROTHERHOOD

A new exhibition in Bournemouth illustrates how Pre-Raphaelitism lives on in contemporary art and culture such as The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones

- Jeremy Miles

Love them or hate them the Pre-Raphaelites invariably divide art world opinion. Certainly Beyond the Brotherhood, the new exhibition opening at Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum this month, looks like delighting many but will probably infuriate a few.

It will delight because it brings together for the first time the impressive collected Pre-Raphaelite works of both the Russell-Cotes and the Southampton City Art Gallery. Better still, this group of remarkable and significant paintings will be joined by masterpieces from the national collections of Tate Britain, the Royal Academy, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

For most devotees the chance to see major works by, among others, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Frank Cadogan Cowper, and Edward Gregory will be more than enough to satisfy.

However, the exhibition is also likely to annoy a few purists because it suggests that far from being a historic style rooted in the sensibilities of the 19th century, Pre-Raphaelitism is a living tradition that continues to exert an influence on contemporary art and culture today. This, it claims, can be seen in the enduring popularity of fantasies like The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

For some it may initially be difficult to equate the original Pre-Raphaelite Brothers with the works of Tolkien and George R.R. Martin. It’s actually not difficult at all. These young rebels sought to challenge the then all powerful Royal Academy’s insistence that Raphael and Michelangelo were the greatest artists ever.

They proposed a return to the style of art that had existed before Raphael when medieval painters had put truth before beauty and championed naturalism and symbolism.