What was the role of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in painting and literature?

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) was a group of English painters and poets founded in 1848. The members of the group were John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and others. The PRB aimed to reform the art world by rejecting the academic conventions of the Royal Academy of Arts and turning back to the purity and simplicity of pre-Renaissance art.

They believed that the Renaissance had a negative impact on art and wanted to create works that were closer to nature and spiritualism. The Brotherhood's paintings often featured literary or mythological subjects, and were characterized by bright colors, meticulous attention to detail, and an intense emotional atmosphere.

Their literary counterparts, which included Christina Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinburne, and William Morris, shared their artistic vision and helped to create a unified style that was both visual and literary. The Pre-Raphaelite writers sought to revive the tradition of medieval literature, and to create a new form of poetry that was more akin to the early ballads and lyrics.

The PRB had a significant influence on the Victorian era and beyond. Their work challenged the traditional norms of beauty and form, and paved the way for the Aesthetic Movement and Symbolism in the late 19th century. The Brotherhood's emphasis on emotion, symbolism, and spirituality also anticipated the modernist movements of the 20th century.