The Italianate aspect of the Pre-Raphaelite journal The Germ

Abstract

The Germ: Thoughts towards Nature in Poetry, Literature and Art was a magazine started by the seven members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, or PRB, in 1850. It was conceived as a tool for attracting the public's attention to the Brotherhood's work and publicizing its views on art. The Brotherhood wanted to reform English painting and the magazine was meant to communicate this new vision in terms of poetry, woodcut illustrations and discussions of art, thus opening out a relatively narrow focus on painting into a broader artistic spectrum. The magazine did not succeed in spreading its message to a wide audience. Of the 500 copies of the second issue only 40 were actually sold. After the failure of the first two issues, in an attempt to make the periodical more professional the title was changed for issues three and four to a variation on the subtitle: Art and Poetry: Being Thoughts towards Nature, Conducted principally by Artists. Then the magazine folded. In 1869 Edmund Gosse referred to it as a 'charming and pathetic failure,' a 'forlorn little periodical.' Yet it received many reviews, which means that it did reach a considerable number of critics. More importantly, it functioned as a forum in which members of the Brotherhood attempted a clear formulation of their views and thus clarified them. The Germ in fact became a powerhouse of creative activity for its contributors and for those loosely connected to them. Since this includes the Rossettis, and since one major tenet of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is a return to the aesthetics of early Italian art, the cultural link between Italian and English culture would seem a given. In this article I intend to explore this issue more closely. [excerpt]