The hidden Pre-Raphaelite : the art and writings of Frederic George Stephens from 1848–70

This interdisciplinary thesis presents a fresh assessment of the art and writings of Frederic George Stephens (1827–1907), one of the seven founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, during the period from 1848 until 1870. Despite his centrality within the Pre-Raphaelite circle, and his lifelong dedication to communicating their ideals to the reading public, Stephens has remained a marginal figure in studies of Pre-Raphaelitism, frequently quoted from but seldom considered as an independent subject in his own right. I have discovered letters, manuscripts and artworks by Stephens which have been previously unknown to scholars and which deepen our understanding of his art, his writing and his personal relationships. His few surviving paintings and drawings have been neglected or even wholeheartedly dismissed by art historians and are examined here in detail for the first time, reinstating his work in the canon of Pre-Raphaelite art. By concentrating on the earlier part of Stephens’s career, I show how he navigated the transition from practising artist to professional critic in the 1850s. His early training as a painter at the Royal Academy gave him a unique perspective for his art criticism, which used a lyrical prose style to convey his acute knowledge of art history and his belief in the moral purpose of art. Consequently, this study demonstrates Stephens’s development of a critical voice which enabled him not only to vocalise the aims and ideals of Pre-Raphaelitism, but also to adapt to emerging aesthetic theories in British art during the volatile decade of the 1860s. Little-seen articles and essays in the Germ, the Critic, the Crayon, the Athenaeum and Macmillan’s Magazine are examined chronologically in order to chart the evolution of his critical opinions.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Year dc:date

2019

Author dc:creator

• Wilkes, Robert

Contributors dc:contributor

• Payne, Christiana
• Roe, Dinah

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/7zw5-ww34

OAI identifier oai:identifier

tle:2d03650b-8472-4846-ac6a-263037a4994c:d6bd9758-527a-46cd-bfe2-c433766e8fca:1