From the Tate Britain, Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces

When Charles Dickens saw Pre-Raphaelite paintings for the first time, he described the adolescent Christ painted by John Everett Millais as “a horrible snot-nosed brat” and the Virgin Mary as “a monster from out of the worst gin shop in England.” But the adventures of these rebel painters - the first in the history of art - would culminate in great success, conquering critics such as John Ruskin, influencing illustrious colleagues and inaugurating a style of women’s clothing without precedence in Victorian England. It went as far as being a source of inspiration for contemporary fashion and advertising, the movement from the 1800s offering a model of beauty, aesthetic and atmosphere. This summer, the Pre-Raphaelites officially come to Milan with 80 works from the prestigious Tate Collection. At the Palazzo Reale, we can explore love stories, poetry and desires, as well as portraits, landscapes and medieval legends in an in-depth journey through the art of 18 young revolutionaries. On display, timeless icons and masterpieces that rarely leave the United Kingdom, such as The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse, Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Ophelia by Millais. And there’s also a look at the behind-the-scenes world of these uniquely fascinating pieces. From the four months posing in a bathtub by Elizabeth Siddal to impersonate the Shakespearian heroine in an en plein air pose, the practice of working outdoors that the Pre-Raphaelites undertook before the Impressionists, but also the stories of seamstresses and domestic servants who became fatal muses in these paintings, oftentimes not gaining so much for their efforts.