The Pre-Raphaelite Body: Fear and Desire in Painting, Poetry, and Criticism [Hardcover]

J. B. Bullen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0198182570 | ISBN-13: 978-0198182573

Pre-Raphaelitism was the first avant-garde movement in Britain. It shocked its first audience, and as it modulated into Aestheticism it continued to disturb the British public. This interdisciplinary study traces the sources of this critical reaction to the representation of the body in painting and poetry from the work of Millais and Morris to that of Rossetti and Burne-Jones. The book also explores how reactions were conditioned by such late nineteenth-century anxieties as fear of cholera and hatred of Catholicism, fascination with the fallen woman, horror at the `shrieking sisterhood' of emancipated women, and even the terror of psycho-sexual diseases.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`There is no doubt about the impeccable scholarship of Prof. J B Bullen in this book. ... There are fine pieces of penetrating reading of key texts, extensive and accurate bibliographical data, and very competent nuggets of Victorian lore All this basic and reliable information is precious for the students discovering the period and what has been written about it. ,,, the book could easily be used for a foundation course on Pre-Raphaelitism ... should also be read by fellow specialists to spark off some interesting and enjoyable debates.' Jean-Marie Baissus/Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens No 48 (1998)

`This book is a study of art criticism and the depiction of the human body, rather than cultural gender constructions ... Bullen ... provides a challenge to the standard conceptions of medievalism in this period that can only enhance our understanding of this form of stylistic expression ... present new ideas and models that must be integrated into histories of these artists to more fully understand their productions, cultural milieu, and personal and reception histories.' Jason M. Rosenfeld, The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies

`an important survey of discourses of Victorian malaise, a case-study in the topography of discontent ... Bullen's elegantly written book reveals a lexicon of discomfort with bodily images which violated conventional modes of visual representation, and which seemed, in their degeneracy, to endanger the nation's well-being. This is an illuminating study, an important source-text, a volume which throws light on cultural history, sexual mores, the formation of discourses on the aesthetic, and the purchase of culturally constructed gender roles on the reception of avant-garde Victorian paintin and poetry.' Francis O'Gorman, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, The Review of English Studies, vol 50, no 199, 1999

About the Author

J. B. Bullen is a Professor in the Department of English at University of Reading.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198182570
• ISBN-13: 978-0198182573
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,613,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Pre-Raphaelite

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