The Delaware Art Museum To Show the Pre-Raphaelites in Print

Written by Francis Boccho Wednesday, 18 May 2011 22:41

Wilmington, DE.- The Delaware Art Museum is pleased to present "Pre-Raphaelites in Print: The Age of Photomechanical Reproduction", featuring 35 stunning photomechanical facsimiles drawn exclusively from the Museum’s Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft collection of British Pre-Raphaelite art, on view June 18 through September 17. This exhibition displays images of Pre-Raphaelite art created by individual photographers, including Frederick Hollyer and Valentine Prinsep, as well as those produced by larger commercial enterprises, such as the Autotype Company. Selected works highlight the diverse production processes employed during the early stages of photographic reproduction.

Today, reproductions of famous works of art are relatively inexpensive and widely available. But before photography, works of art could only be viewed as originals, or in limited print editions. When the invention of photography in the mid-19th century opened new possibilities for fine art reproduction, numerous experimental processes combining printmaking and photography called “photomechanical reproduction” were explored. In 1892 when Samuel Bancroft was persuaded to exhibit his collection of Pre-Raphaelite art, the display included 72 photomechanical facsimiles along with 35 original works of art.  This concept of exhibiting copy and original side by side – as if both were of equal aesthetic merit - would not have been considered unusual. During the 1900s, however, the status of the “copy” shifted as inexpensive methods and mass circulation became possible.

Today a facsimile bears very little value in relation to the original. Samuel Bancroft prized his collection of over 400 photomechanical reproductions. This encyclopedic visual archive allowed Bancroft to reference images which were geographically out of reach and to develop his expertise in Pre-Raphaelite art, just as a book – or an internet search – might for today’s audiences. But for Bancroft, the collection was more than just a useful study tool. He was fascinated with the emerging technology and often purchased multiple images of the same subject, each representing a different method of production. "Pre-Raphaelites in Print" highlights Bancroft’s unique collection, and reflects both developments in print technology as well as cultural shifts in the valuation of the original versus the reproduction.


Seven young men calling themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (P.R.B.) gathered together in London in 1847, united by a shared distrust for the Royal Academy, the sanctioned art institution of the day. Instead, they turned for inspiration to the art of the Middle Ages--the time "before Raphael." Their subjects were drawn primarily from literature, including the Bible, William Shakespeare, and the poets of their own age, such as Alfred Tennyson and John Keats. As the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood gradually dispersed, new inspiration appeared when William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti became close friends. In 1861, Morris founded the firm that would become Morris and Company, designing hand-crafted household objects, and signaling the beginning of the Arts and Crafts Movement. By the late 1860s, new artists, including Edward Burne-Jones, Simeon Solomon, and Albert Moore, were introduced into the Pre-Raphaelite coterie, bringing fresh influences and issues to the table. This influx of new individuals led to the subtle merging of Pre-Raphaelitism with what is now referred to as the "Aesthetic Movement," prevalent in the 1870s through the 1890s. This style reflected a desire to move away from the sentimental narratives of the early Victorian period and to focus instead on images of "beauty" (often women) in which color harmony, the beauty of form, and compositional balance took precedence over narrative.

The Delaware Art Museum is located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware and which holds a collection of more than 12,000 works. The museum, founded in 1912 by the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artist Howard Pyle, focuses on American art and illustration from the 19th to the 21st century as well as the English Pre-Raphaelite movement of the mid-19th century. Newly renovated and expanded, the Delaware Art Museum offers a 9-acre (36,000 m2) Sculpture Park, the Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives, studio art classes, an interactive Kids’ Corner learning area, the delART Café featuring free Wi-Fi access, and the Museum Store with distinctive books and gifts.

Visit the museum's website at ... www.delart.org

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