Pre-Raphaelite women

Women in Pre-Raphaelite paintings are very different from the conventional Victorian ideal of women as subservient to man. Rossetti and Burne-Jones depicted women as powerful, cruel beings who used their beauty and their sexuality to tempt and destroy men.

Pre-Raphaelite women also looked different. Rossetti's heroines had the distinctive features of Jane Morris with her statuesque figure, full lips and long wavy hair. Burne-Jones' preferred models were tall, thin and looked neither masculine nor feminine.

A number of the women involved in the Pre-Raphaelite circle, such as Marie Stillman, were artists themselves.

Gallery of Pre-Raphaelite women drawings and watercolours

In this section

• Early Pre-Raphaelite drawing style
• Portrait drawings
• Studies for paintings
• Pre-Raphaelite landscape
• Pre-Raphaelite women
• Pre-Raphaelite Drawings exhibition

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