Pre-Raphaelitism

noun

A 19th-century art movement by a group of English artists who sought to reform art by rejecting the academic and idealized style of the Royal Academy, which they felt was influenced too heavily by the artist Raphael; favoring the detailed, realistic, and often medieval or literary-inspired style of art that came "before Raphael".

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Meanings

nounPre-Raphaelitism (uncountable)
  1. uncountablepaintingA 19th-century art movement by a group of English artists who sought to reform art by rejecting the academic and idealized style of the Royal Academy, which they felt was influenced too heavily by the artist Raphael; favoring the detailed, realistic, and often medieval or literary-inspired style of art that came "before Raphael".

Origin

From pre- + Raphael + -ite + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Pre-Raphaelitism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pre-Raphaelitism

MLA

“Pre-Raphaelitism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pre-Raphaelitism. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pre-Raphaelitism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pre-Raphaelitism.

Source: Pre-Raphaelitism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.