Pre-Raphaelitism Female Paths, 1850-1914

The Recoletos Hall at the Mapfre Foundation will be presenting an exhibition from 24 September to 10 January 2027, which focuses on the Pre-Raphaelite artistic movement that emerged in Great Britain in opposition to the official academic art of the mid-19th century. The exhibition is made up of an extensive selection of works by female artists who embraced this new style, which emerged in 1848 and remained until the early 20th century.

Curated by Pamela Gerrish Nunn, the exhibition analyses how the female artists from Victorian society approached, adopted and adapted the potential of Pre-Raphaelitism from a position of disadvantage imposed on them by society and the different factors that linked them to the movement: their ties with certain male artists; their enthusiasm for John Ruskin, a prominent advocate of Pre-Raphaelitism or their independent criteria and taste, among others.

The selected works move through various techniques, ranging from oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and engravings to photographs, textiles, embroidery, enamels or stained glass, created by artists like Elizabeth Siddal, Julia Margaret Cameron, Evelyn De Morgan, May Morris and Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale, among others.

Image Credit:

• Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale. The Pale Complexion of True Love,1899. © Musée d’Orsay, dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Sophie Crépy