In 1868, a group of ambitious young English painters, poets, and art critics formed a “brotherhood” modeled on the Nazarene movement. Their goal was simple: they would abandon the mechanical Mannerist principals driving the art world and return to the detail and intensity of classical painting. Raphael’s perfectionism, they felt, had been particularly corrupting to subsequent generations, thus they called themselves “Pre-Raphaelites.” At the heart of the tight-knit group were brothers Dante Gabriel and William Michael Rossetti and their sister Christina. The studious and captivating children of an Italian exile, they pushed boundaries in their work and daily life. In this groundbreaking show, the first retrospective dedicated to the Rossetti generation, their romance and radicalism is explored through 150 paintings and drawings, plus photographs, designs, and writing. —E.C.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, La Ghirlandata, 1873.
The Rossettis
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Tate Britain / London / Art
Tate Britain / London / Art
Photo: Guildhall Art Gallery
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