Pre-Raphaelite

John Everett Millais

John Everett Millais (1829–1896) was a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and a child prodigy of British painting. His luminous, hyper-detailed Ophelia is one of the most famous images in British art.

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1829–1896 · British Pre-Raphaelite painter

Millais moved from radical Pre-Raphaelite to the most successful establishment painter of his day, becoming President of the Royal Academy.

Creator story

Surprising fact

For Ophelia, the model Elizabeth Siddal lay in a bathtub for hours; the lamps warming it went out and she caught a serious cold.

Source: Wikipedia / Wikimedia

Co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood at just 19.
Painted Ophelia with botanically exact, glowing detail.
Later became President of the Royal Academy.

Portrait: John Everett Millais — Portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia.

Key works

A key work by John Everett Millais

These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.

1851

Ophelia

Ophelia is one of John Everett Millais's defining works.