Why are the pre-rapaelites called that when they actually came after Raphael? Or am I missing something here?
The Pre-Raphaelites Brotherhood was a group of artists who were rebelling against the Raphael-based artistic conventions of their time. So the name was meant to indicate that they looked to artists who came before Raphael for inspiration, not that they themselves actually predated Raphael.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (DG Rosetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais) admired the Renaissance artists just before Raphael for their attention to detail and naturalistic settings. The school of art and (fleshly) school of poetry that followed took their names from the Brotherhood.
And since the other PRB thread sank a couple of weeks ago, can I take this opportunity to again state how oh-so-very much I despise William Holman Hunt? Can I?
Thank you,
Capybara
How cathartic.
I feel exorcised, for a few moments.