6 July 2011
Pre-Raphaelites the focus of exhibition and conference
Image shows 'The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow' by Noel Paton, 1860 (University of Dundee Museum Services)
Photo opportunity: 5pm on Friday, 8th July. Conference delegates will officially open the exhibition.
An exhibition of work exploring Scottish links to the Pre-Raphaelites and an international academic conference examining one of the famous British art movements take place at the University of Dundee this week.
'Wildering Phantasies: An Interdisciplinary Conference Devoted to the Pre-Raphaelites’ is to be hosted by the University’s School of Humanities and will take place from Thursday 7th- Sunday 10th July. Leading Pre-Raphaelite scholars from the UK, France, Spain, Germany and the US will attend the conference which will explore, among many other topics, the Pre-Raphaelites in Dundee.
During their time in the city they will help to open the ‘Noel Paton and the Pre-Raphaelites: Scottish Collections and Connections‘ exhibition in the University’s Lamb Gallery. It features rarely seen works by Pre-Raphaelite artists, or artists connected to, or influenced by, the movement.
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in 1848 by painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt. They were later joined by other artists and writers, and many others became influenced by their ideas although they were not formal members of the Brotherhood.
The Pre-Raphaelites reacted against the formal, academic style of art popularised by the establishment at the time and demanded a return to the art of the early Renaissance, before the work of Raphael, which emphasised truthfulness in subject and treatment. As a formal group, the Pre-Raphaelites only existed for a few years, but their influence in art and literature was considerable.
Many Scottish artists drew on their ideas, and examples of their work is also included in the exhibition - particularly that of Dunfermline-born Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901). Paton was a close friend of Millais, and was invited to join the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Although Paton declined he continued to be guided by their ideas.
University museum curator Matthew Jarron explained, 'The Pre-Raphaelite influence on Noel Paton’s work is immediately recognisable - even his famous fairy paintings have a wealth of naturalistic detail that was grounded in Pre-Raphaelite ideas.
'As well as several fine paintings, we’re delighted to be showing material from the Noel Paton Archive recently acquired by Fife Council Museums which has never previously been exhibited in public. The fact that so many of the world’s leading Pre-Raphaelite scholars will be visiting Dundee means this exhibition is the perfect accompaniment to this prestigious conference.'
The exhibition also features material from Dundee Art Galleries and Museums, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Perth Museum and Art Gallery, the Royal Scottish Academy, the St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum and the University's own collections.
The exhibition runs until 10th September and admission is free. Places are still available to attend the conference, and tickets can be obtained at www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/exhibitions/wildering.htm
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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