In the Victorian era

England – swept along by the Industrial Revolution, the Pre-Raphaelite fold, William Morris, and the Arts and Crafts movement – aspired to return to traditional values. Wishing to resurrect the pure and noble forms of the Italian Renaissance, a group of painters including John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Edward Burne-Jones, favoured Realism and Biblical themes.

This work, with its informed text and rich illustrations, enthusiastically describes this singular movement which provided the inspiration for Art Noveau and Symbolism.