Brothers in Arms (From Oxford Mail)

Brothers in Arms

6:00pm Thursday 9th September 2010 in Art By Jeremy Smith

Jeremy Smith previews the Ashmolean’s exhibition of work by the enduringly popular Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Next Thursday, the Ashmolean in central Oxford is launching its first major art exhibition.

The Pre-Raphaelites and Italy is bringing together more than 140 jaw-dropping pictures from the Ashmolean’s Pre-Raphaelite collection, and with loans from museums and collections around the world, some of these are being displayed in Britain for the very first time.

Now like all good exhibitions this one has a goal - “to challenge what we know about the influence of Italy on one of Britain’s most significant and enduringly popular art movements.”

And, taking a deep breath, if that all sounds a bit high-brow, relax – the Ashmolean after all is a master at presenting exhibitions such as this in both an informative and, perhaps more importantly, entertaining way.

Of course, those of you who love art will inevitably stream past the museum’s highly temperamental revolving door (tip: don’t attempt to push it or it’ll break down), but for those of you who simply like paintings but have always been wary of exhibitions, this is the perfect opportunity to dip your toe, however fleetingly, into the waters of genuine art appreciation.

And if that weren’t enough to convince you, the exhibition also boasts a local connection as this prolific group of artists all, at some time, lived here.

One of their most important early patrons, Thomas Coombe, was superintendent of the Clarendon Press at Oxford, while John Ruskin – the Brotherhood’s mentor and critic – was Oxford University’s first Slade Professor of Fine Art and first opened his School of Drawing (today’s Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art) in 1871.

Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris met in Oxford and began their lifelong fascination with art and design and the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti joined them in producing the murals for the Oxford Union Debating Hall between 1857 to ‘59.

But if you can’t make it in to the centre of Oxford, then nearby in Lechlade and Buscot, you can see William Morris’s arts and crafts home at Kelsmcott Manor and view the Faringdon Collection of Pre-Raphaelite art at Buscot Park (both these two organisations will close to the public at the end of September).

But back to the Ashmolean exhibition – in re-examining their early years, museum curators Colin Harrison and Christopher Newall have aimed to shed new light on those who emerged as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the 1850s.

From the influence of the movement’s champion, John Ruskin – one of Italy’s most dedicated tourists – to their illustrations of early Italian art and literature, the exhibition explores the idea of Italy itself – a place which captured the imagination of a whole generation of British men and women and which was the source of such varied artistic responses.

The fascination and love that Italy inspired in these artists is all too clear.

Indeed, as the museum’s director, Dr Christopher Brown, says: “The exhibition is a real triumph for the Ashmolean. Displaying one of the great strengths of our own collection with loans from around the world has allowed us to put on an exhibition which is a visual delight.”

Breathtakingly beautiful, this is an exhibition you miss at your peril.

* The Pre-Raphaelites at the Ashmolean, Beaumont Street, Oxford, 16 September to December 5. £8 (£6 conc) ashmolean.org/ exhibitions/tickets. Catalogue: £25 (£20 with ticket).

* Kelmscott Manor, Kelmscott, Lechlade, 01367 252486 kelmscottmanor.org.uk Buscot Park, Faringdon, 0845 3453387, buscot-park.com Both until September 30.