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Feb 19, 2024 19 tweets 7 min read Read on X
In the 19th century, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood changed art forever.

They made art feel fresh and real again - a return to the principles of the Renaissance.

These are some paintings you need to know: Image
1. The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse (1888) - Inspired by Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, it shows the cursed Lady of Shalott in a boat, leaving her island to meet her fate. Image
2. King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid by Edward Burne-Jones (1884) - Illustrates the legend of King Cophetua who falls in love with a beggar maid, showcasing Burne-Jones's interest in medieval stories and his stylized, idealized figures. Image
3. Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1851-1852) - This painting depicts Ophelia, a character from Shakespeare's "Hamlet," floating in a stream before she drowns, surrounded by lush, meticulously detailed nature. Image
4. Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1870) - Represents Beatrice Portinari from Dante Alighieri's "La Vita Nuova," symbolizing love and death with Beatrice at the moment of her transcendence. Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Beata Beatrix - 1925.722 - Art Institute of Chicago
5. Christ in the House of His Parents by John Everett Millais (1849-1850) - A highly detailed scene depicting a young Jesus in Joseph's carpentry workshop, emphasizing realism and pre-industrial innocence. Image
6. The Awakening Conscience by William Holman Hunt (1853) - This painting is a moralistic narrative showing a young woman rising from her lover's lap upon realizing her life of sin, with a room filled with symbolic detail. Image
7. The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt (1854-1856) - Hunt depicts a scapegoat in the wilderness, suffering for the sins of others, rich in symbolic detail and naturalistic desert landscape. Image
8. Mariana by John Everett Millais (1851) - Inspired by Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," Mariana is shown in a state of longing and melancholy, surrounded by autumnal leaves and a richly detailed interior. Image
9. Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1866-1868, altered 1872-1873) - Rossetti's Lilith embodies the fatal beauty, contemplating herself in a mirror, symbolizing vanity and beauty's destructive power. Image
10. Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1874) - This artwork portrays the Roman goddess Proserpine (Persephone in Greek mythology) holding a pomegranate, symbolizing her marriage to Hades and her dual life between the underworld and the earth. Image
11. The Bridesmaid by John Everett Millais (1851) - The painting captures the moment a bridesmaid is participating in the traditional ritual of passing a piece of wedding cake through a ring to dream of her future husband. Image
12. The Light of the World by William Holman Hunt (1851-1853) - Symbolizing Jesus's offer of redemption, depicted knocking on an overgrown and long-unopened door, illustrating a passage from the Book of Revelation. Image
13. Ecce Ancilla Domini by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1850) - An Annunciation scene portraying the Virgin Mary as a frightened teenager, emphasizing her humanity and vulnerability. Image
14. The Vale of Rest by John Everett Millais (1858-1859) - Depicting nuns in a cemetery at twilight, capturing themes of death, work, and contemplation with a mood of serene melancholy. Image
15. Isabella by John Everett Millais (1848-1849) - Based on John Keats's poem "Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil," it portrays the moment Isabella's brothers realize she loves Lorenzo, a man of lower social status. Image
16. Work by Ford Madox Brown (1852-1865) - This artwork captures the bustling activity of laborers on a London street, showcasing various social classes and the dignity of work, with rich detail and vibrant colors to highlight the importance of hard work and social unity. Image
17. The Shadow of Death by William Holman Hunt (1870-1873) - This painting presents Jesus as a carpenter stretching after work, casting a shadow that prefigures the crucifixion, surrounded by details symbolizing his future passion and emphasizing the theme of sacrifice and redemption.Image
What is your favorite painting from this movement?

Mine is "The Lady of Shalott" by John William Waterhouse. Image

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More from @CultureExploreX

Sep 13
Why do we stare at faces painted centuries ago?

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Here are 22 portraits that shaped how we see the world — and ourselves. 🧵 Portrait Of Lady Agnew Of Lochnaw by John Singer Sargent at the 	Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh Year (completed): 1892
This isn’t just a pretty girl.

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Not seductive. Not smiling.
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Were they both seeing the same reality?Ezekiel's Vision by Raphael, c. 1518 AD
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Sep 11
9/11 didn’t just collapse towers, it collapsed belief.

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Historians William Strauss and Neil Howe called it The Saeculum — a four-phase cycle of human history:

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Each cycle ends the same way: something must be reborn. Image
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Sep 7
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Image: Warsaw (Then and Now) Image
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How do you turn chaos into meaning? 🧵 Upper left: Epic of Gilgamesh Upper right: Iliad Lower left: Hamlet Lower right: Lord of the Rings
The oldest epic we know is about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who lost his closest friend and went searching for immortality, only to learn that no man escapes death.

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Across time, stories help us face death and make sense of a broken world.The Epic of Gilgamesh stands as one of humanity's oldest literary masterpieces, dating back to the early third millennium BCE. This ancient Mesopotamian poem originates from the Sumerian city of Uruk, located in present-day Iraq. Credit: Archaeo - Histories
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