Pre-Raphaelitism and the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood (1905) (14776750384)

Identifier: preraphaelitismp02hunt (find matches)
Title: Pre-Raphaelitism and the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: Hunt, William Holman, 1827-1910
Subjects: Pre-Raphaelitism Painters -- Great Britain
Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company London, Macmillan & Co., ltd.
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



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al purpose of Millaisand myself. With misreading of evidence and longpossession of the public ear which he and his followershave enjoyed ; and by means of a multitude of publicationsgreat and small, they have led the world to assume thatRossettis priority could not be disputed, and that his typeof work was a true representation of original Pre-Raphaeliteintentions. It did not seem possible that this confusion could occurwhen I paid my tributes to Rossettis merits, for I wishedto prove that Pre-Raphaelite rivalry could bear no traceof envy. It was not then necessary to dwell upon thecircumstances marking his estrangement from us ; I wasnot called upon in my paneo^vric to indicate thedates and character of his progressive steps in designand workmanship, nor how these compared with thoseof other Pre - Raphaelite workers. At that time somany were alive who knew the facts, that the shadowypretensions of Rossettis priority were not worthy to betaken into account. The case is now altered. In
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Uj. ,M.oi^n^/L ytu/tC. piuuz . JuMUL &^.drLC Sn^^-oiH^ of ^ .y^ ^yrt TCLcer- ■fir T^HW ■■ .i^lU 1 U XV PRE-RAPHAELITE BROTHERHOOD 419 writing the History of Pre-Raphaelitism I must correcterroneous conclusions from any source, yet I would pro-test against my delimitation of Rossettis claims beingtaken as a withdrawal of my testimony to his independentexcellence. In disproving all right to leadership for him,it must not be assumed that I tail to acknowledge thedistinction which, in its degree, his genius brought to ourcause ; and I must maintain that his training in my studiohad a lasting influence upon the spirit of his mode of expres-sion. This apprenticeship gave his art an actuality withoutsome degree of which all painting is characterless and un-persuasive, particularly so when of revivalist temper. Ourmethods of work, however, had serious results on ouroutput. After going apart on our several ways Rossettibegan to depend more and more on the practice of makingseparate s