preraphaelism means the doctrine or practice of a school of modern painters who profess to be followers of the painters before Raphael. Its adherents advocate careful study from nature, delicacy and minuteness of workmanship, and an exalted and delicate conception of the subject. It carries an Arena rating of 1354, earned across 23 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, preraphaelism ranks #1,389 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,053 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #5,449 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #6,490 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “preraphaelism” is a great word
PRERAPHAELISM — [Noun] The doctrine of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a 19th-century English art movement that sought to emulate the stylistic fidelity, naturalism, and moral seriousness perceived in Italian art before Raphael. From the prefix pre- ("before") + the name Raphael (referring to the Renaissance painter Raphael) + the suffix -ism ("doctrine, system"). Unlike "Academicism," which upheld the polished conventions of the Renaissance masters, or "Impressionism," which chased fleeting atmospheric effects, Preraphaelism is a deliberate archaeology of a purer visual past. It is the jewel-like clarity of a dew-laden cobweb, the startling precision of every vein in a marigold, and the luminous sorrow of a medieval maiden in a bower of wild roses—a testament that truth, and therefore beauty, resides in uncompromising particularity.
Etymology
From pre- + Raphael + -ism.
noun
- The doctrine or practice of a school of modern painters who profess to be followers of the painters before Raphael. Its adherents advocate careful study from nature, delicacy and minuteness of workmanship, and an exalted and delicate conception of the subject.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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