A Study of Symbolism of the Pre-Raphaelite Female Images from the Perspective of Feminism

Abstract

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (also known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a poetic and artistic group founded in the Victorian period. This short-lived but far-reaching artistic revolution originated from the obsession with Romanticism and the Middle Ages of several Royal Academy students. They were disappointed with the old-fashioned and lifeless academy, and wanted to return to the original natural state of early Italian art before Raphael. Also, these passionate young artists loved literature and had close contact with Victorian poets, making the literary themes in their paintings common. Female models, female images and portraits are the deepest impressions of Pre-Raphaelite painting, and the member closely related to the female paintings, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, is both a painter and a poet. This article studies the feminist elements and their symbolism in the representative works of Pre-Raphaelites from the perspective of the feminist movement and feminism, and attempts to explore their causes and other correlations through the historical background and artistic ideas. In addition, the article analyzes the identity change and identification of Pre-Raphaelite female artists from a feminist perspective.