Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Artists
And with all this vast creative activity, he recognized only oneself-imposed limitation—beauty. Hence, though his span of life wasshort, his work is imperishable. He steadily progressed: but he wasever true, beautiful and pure, and freer than any other master fromsuperficiality and mannerism. He produced a vast number of pictures,elevating to men of every race and of every age, and before whoseimmortal beauty artists of every school unite in common homage. —Wilhelm Lubke
[Illustration: Raphael]
The term "Preraphaelite" traces a royal lineage to William Morris.Just what the word really meant, William Morris was not sure, yet heonce expressed the hope that he would some day know, as a thousandindustrious writers were laboring to make the matter plain.
Seven men helped William Morris to launch the phrase, by formingthemselves into an organization which they were pleased to call the"Preraphaelite Brotherhood."
The word "brotherhood" has a lure and a promise for every lonely andtired son of earth. And Burne-Jones pleaded for the prefix becauseit was like holy writ: it gave everybody an opportunity to readanything into it that he desired.
Of this I am very sure, in the Preraphaelite Brotherhood there wasno lack of appreciation for Raphael. In fact, there is proofpositive that Burne-Jones and Madox Brown studied him with profit,and loved him so wisely and well that they laid impression-paper onhis poses. This would have been good and sufficient reason forhating the man; and possibly this accounts for their luminousflashes of silence concerning him. The Preraphaelite Brotherhood,like all other liberal organizations, was quite inclined to beilliberal. And the prejudice of this clanship, avowedly foundedwithout prejudice, lay in the assumption that life and art suffereda degeneration from the rise of Raphael. In art, as in literature,there is overmuch tilting with names—so the Preraphaelites enlistedunder the banner of Botticelli.
Raphael marks an epoch. He did what no man before him had ever done,and by the sublimity of his genius placed the world forever underobligations to him. In fact, the art of the Preraphaelites was builton Raphael, with an attempt to revive the atmosphere and environmentthat belonged to another. Raphael mirrored the soul of things—heused the human form and the whole natural world as symbols ofspirit. And this is exactly what Burne-Jones did, and the rest ofthe Brotherhood tried to do. The thought of Raphael and of Burne-Jones often seems identical; in temperament, disposition andaspiration they were one. That poetic and fervid statement of Mrs.Jameson, that Burne-Jones is the avatar of Raphael, contains thegerm of truth. The dream-women of Burne-Jones have the same hauntingand subtle spirit