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France and Italy: Receptions and Entanglements

Join us on Wednesday 11^th March from 7.30 – 9 pm (UK time) for a seminar investigating the interrelationships between the Pre-Raphaelites and the visual cultures of France and Italy. This month, the speakers will be Dr Laure Nermel, Alessia Attanasio and Dr Vincenzo Pernice. The seminar will be chaired by art historian and curator Dr Eduardo De Maio, whose own research centres on internationalism during the long nineteenth century.

Book your ticket here

Dr Laure Nermel, ‘The Pre-Raphaelites’ Reception in France: A Love and Hate Relationship?’

From May to November 1855, the first French World Fair took place in Paris. A few members of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood exhibited at the Pavilion of British Paintings: Millais, Hunt and Brown. Their talent and originality were appreciated, but some critics compared their canvasses to ‘coloured photographs’ (Maxime Du Camp). At the other Parisian World Fairs (1857, 1862, 1867 and 1878), the Pre-Raphaelites were still perceived as oddities. It is only at the turn of the century that art historians (Ernest Chesneau and Robert de la Sizeranne) started to consider them as the leaders of a new movement. This paper will enquire why the French public and criticism struggled to integrate the Pre-Raphaelites in their definition of modern art.

Dr Laure Nermel

Laure is a doctor in art history and a certified tour guide. After being educated at the Sorbonne, University of Cape Town and University of Westminster, she got involved in several projects at the V&A, Tate and the Museum of London. She now offers themed tours for various audiences at the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay or Versailles Palace. Her PhD is on the creative agency of painter-poet Elizabeth Siddal. In 2021, she contributed to the writing of the first ever book of collected essays on women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement (Peter Lang), and to a special issue of the newspaper Le Monde. She has also published in The Conversation France and won the John Pickard Essay Prize of The Pre-Raphaelite Society Review in 2022.

Alessia Attanasio and Dr Vincenzo Pernice, ‘Post Raphael, Before the Sitwells: The Reception of Italian Baroque Art Among Pre-Raphaelite Painters, Victorian Exhibitions and Collectors’

Currently, no publications are investigating Victorian Britain’s engagement with Baroque art. Differently, the Renaissance has been the object of numerous publications and exhibitions, including Pre-Raphaelites. Modern Renaissance (Forlì, 2024). Here, Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics were presented beyond Medievalism to embrace the Italian Cinquecento, only cautiously extending to the Baroque. Yet both Victorian Britain and the Pre-Raphaelites were familiar with Baroque art. In an era often deemed as anti-Baroque, Seicento art was collected, displayed and discussed. Through unpublished historical and visual analysis, this paper reveals overlooked connections between Pre-Raphaelite and Baroque painting, challenging the idea that the Baroque’s revaluation in England only occurred with the Sitwells.

Alessia Attanasio

Alessia is a PhD researcher in History of Art at the University of Birmingham (UK), focusing on the reception of Neapolitan Baroque art in England. Recently, she contributed to the curation of Sensing Naples, the permanent and multisensorial redisplay of the Neapolitan Baroque Collection at Compton Verney (2023).

Dr Vincenzo Pernice

Vincenzo, PhD in Visual and Media Studies, is a research fellow at the University of Milan and an Art History lecturer for Teesside University’s Bachelor of Arts programs at Ferrari Fashion School, Milan. His publications include the monograph Barocco e decadenza (2024).

The William Morris Society

MORRIS MONTH

‘A Remarkable Woman: Pragmatic Feminism in May Morris’s Plays’

by Professor Serena Trowbridge

Wednesday 18th March, 7.30 – 9.30 pm

ONLINE

Click here for more information

Pre-Raphaelite Society

‘John Roddam Spencer Stanhope: Faith, Grief and Angels’

by Simon Poë

21 March 2026, 11.30am – 1 pm

In person at the Birmingham and Midland Institute

Click here for more information

Professor Serena Trowbridge’s Inaugural Lecture

‘Why Does Pre-Raphaelitism Matter Now?’

Friday 20th March, 6 – 8pm

In person at the Birmingham and Midland Institute and online

Click here and here for more information

ROMANCE, REVOLUTION AND REFORM

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Deadline: Thursday 16th April

Romance, Revolution and Reform Journal invites submissions of 5,000-8,000 words on ‘Sex in the Long Nineteenth Century’ (1789-1914) in all its forms and in a global context for Issue 9. We encourage broad interpretations of sex and invite submissions that explore its fluid and multifaceted nature. The journal encourages multi- and interdisciplinary papers from across the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities and invites contributions from those at any career stage, including PGRs and ECRs. The closing date for submissions is midnight on 16th April. Papers should be submitted to rrr@soton.ac.uk. Early expressions of interest are welcomed. Submission guidelines can be found here.

Catch up with the latest episodes of The Pre-Raphaelite Podcast here!!!

JOIN THE PRE-RAPHAELITE SOCIETY

The Pre-Raphaelite Society is the international society for the study of the lives and art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their circle.

Founded in 1988, the PRS produces the Review of the Pre-Raphaelite Society three times a year, a journal which includes articles relating to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their successors, book and exhibition reviews and meeting reports. We host meetings and lectures of national and international interest, and are the home of The Pre-Raphaelite Podcast. We organise a Postgraduate Network and a Professionals Network. We also run annual competitions for essays, poetry and art inspired by Pre-Raphaelitism, and occasionally offer funding for Pre-Raphaelite projects.

​If you are interested in supporting the Society, please consider purchasing a membership or making a donation.​

Contact us at prsgraduatenetwork@gmail.com

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

France and Italy: Receptions and Entanglements

Join us on Wednesday 11^th March from 7.30 – 9 pm (UK time) for a seminar investigating the interrelationships between the Pre-Raphaelites and the visual cultures of France and Italy. This month, the speakers will be Dr Laure Nermel, Alessia Attanasio and Dr Vincenzo Pernice. The seminar will be chaired by art historian and curator Dr Eduardo De Maio, whose own research centres on internationalism during the long nineteenth century.

Book your ticket here

Dr Laure Nermel, ‘The Pre-Raphaelites’ Reception in France: A Love and Hate Relationship?’

From May to November 1855, the first French World Fair took place in Paris. A few members of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood exhibited at the Pavilion of British Paintings: Millais, Hunt and Brown. Their talent and originality were appreciated, but some critics compared their canvasses to ‘coloured photographs’ (Maxime Du Camp). At the other Parisian World Fairs (1857, 1862, 1867 and 1878), the Pre-Raphaelites were still perceived as oddities. It is only at the turn of the century that art historians (Ernest Chesneau and Robert de la Sizeranne) started to consider them as the leaders of a new movement. This paper will enquire why the French public and criticism struggled to integrate the Pre-Raphaelites in their definition of modern art.

Dr Laure Nermel

Laure is a doctor in art history and a certified tour guide. After being educated at the Sorbonne, University of Cape Town and University of Westminster, she got involved in several projects at the V&A, Tate and the Museum of London. She now offers themed tours for various audiences at the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay or Versailles Palace. Her PhD is on the creative agency of painter-poet Elizabeth Siddal. In 2021, she contributed to the writing of the first ever book of collected essays on women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement (Peter Lang), and to a special issue of the newspaper Le Monde. She has also published in The Conversation France and won the John Pickard Essay Prize of The Pre-Raphaelite Society Review in 2022.

Alessia Attanasio and Dr Vincenzo Pernice, ‘Post Raphael, Before the Sitwells: The Reception of Italian Baroque Art Among Pre-Raphaelite Painters, Victorian Exhibitions and Collectors’

Currently, no publications are investigating Victorian Britain’s engagement with Baroque art. Differently, the Renaissance has been the object of numerous publications and exhibitions, including Pre-Raphaelites. Modern Renaissance (Forlì, 2024). Here, Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics were presented beyond Medievalism to embrace the Italian Cinquecento, only cautiously extending to the Baroque. Yet both Victorian Britain and the Pre-Raphaelites were familiar with Baroque art. In an era often deemed as anti-Baroque, Seicento art was collected, displayed and discussed. Through unpublished historical and visual analysis, this paper reveals overlooked connections between Pre-Raphaelite and Baroque painting, challenging the idea that the Baroque’s revaluation in England only occurred with the Sitwells.

Alessia Attanasio

Alessia is a PhD researcher in History of Art at the University of Birmingham (UK), focusing on the reception of Neapolitan Baroque art in England. Recently, she contributed to the curation of Sensing Naples, the permanent and multisensorial redisplay of the Neapolitan Baroque Collection at Compton Verney (2023).

Dr Vincenzo Pernice

Vincenzo, PhD in Visual and Media Studies, is a research fellow at the University of Milan and an Art History lecturer for Teesside University’s Bachelor of Arts programs at Ferrari Fashion School, Milan. His publications include the monograph Barocco e decadenza (2024).

The William Morris Society

MORRIS MONTH

‘A Remarkable Woman: Pragmatic Feminism in May Morris’s Plays’

by Professor Serena Trowbridge

Wednesday 18th March, 7.30 – 9.30 pm

ONLINE

Click here for more information

Pre-Raphaelite Society

‘John Roddam Spencer Stanhope: Faith, Grief and Angels’

by Simon Poë

21 March 2026, 11.30am – 1 pm

In person at the Birmingham and Midland Institute

Click here for more information

Professor Serena Trowbridge’s Inaugural Lecture

‘Why Does Pre-Raphaelitism Matter Now?’

Friday 20th March, 6 – 8pm

In person at the Birmingham and Midland Institute and online

Click here and here for more information

ROMANCE, REVOLUTION AND REFORM

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Deadline: Thursday 16th April

Romance, Revolution and Reform Journal invites submissions of 5,000-8,000 words on ‘Sex in the Long Nineteenth Century’ (1789-1914) in all its forms and in a global context for Issue 9. We encourage broad interpretations of sex and invite submissions that explore its fluid and multifaceted nature. The journal encourages multi- and interdisciplinary papers from across the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities and invites contributions from those at any career stage, including PGRs and ECRs. The closing date for submissions is midnight on 16th April. Papers should be submitted to rrr@soton.ac.uk. Early expressions of interest are welcomed. Submission guidelines can be found here.

Catch up with the latest episodes of The Pre-Raphaelite Podcast here!!!

JOIN THE PRE-RAPHAELITE SOCIETY

The Pre-Raphaelite Society is the international society for the study of the lives and art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their circle.

Founded in 1988, the PRS produces the Review of the Pre-Raphaelite Society three times a year, a journal which includes articles relating to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their successors, book and exhibition reviews and meeting reports. We host meetings and lectures of national and international interest, and are the home of The Pre-Raphaelite Podcast. We organise a Postgraduate Network and a Professionals Network. We also run annual competitions for essays, poetry and art inspired by Pre-Raphaelitism, and occasionally offer funding for Pre-Raphaelite projects.

​If you are interested in supporting the Society, please consider purchasing a membership or making a donation.​

Contact us at prsgraduatenetwork@gmail.com

Subscribe now

Subscribe to receive information about our events, including our 2025/6 online seminar series.

Subscribe now