Pre-Raphaelites

Sometimes considered the first avant-garde art movement, the Pre-Raphaelites rejected their era's dominant artistic theories for what they saw as a more spiritual, naturalistic and intensely personal approach. Fascinated by the romantic aspects of medieval culture and the vivid, jewel-like colors of Quattrocento art, the movement abhored the Classical poses and composition of Raphael and those influenced by him-hence the group's name-and the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds.