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Ruskin, John

(Encyclopedia)Ruskin, John, 1819–1900, English critic and social theorist. During the mid-19th cent. Ruskin was the virtual dictator of artistic opinion in England, but Ruskin's reputation declined after his deat...

Millais, Sir John Everett

(Encyclopedia)Millais, Sir John Everett mĭlāˈ [key], 1829–96, English painter. A prodigy, he began studying at the Royal Academy at the age of 11. In 1848, together with William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel R...

eclecticism, in art

(Encyclopedia)eclecticism ĭklĕkˈtĭsĭzˌəm [key], art style in which features are borrowed from various styles. It was once applied to the Carracci, who incorporated elements from the Renaissance and classical...

Eyre, Edward John

(Encyclopedia)Eyre, Edward John âr [key], 1815–1901, British colonial administrator. In Australia (1833–45) he was a magistrate, explorer, and writer on Australian geography, and had a reputation for sympathy ...

personification

(Encyclopedia)personification, figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract ideas are endowed with human qualities, e.g., allegorical morality plays where characters include Good Deeds, Beauty, and Death...

settlement house

(Encyclopedia)settlement house, neighborhood welfare institution generally in an urban slum area, where trained workers endeavor to improve social conditions, particularly by providing community services and promot...

Gothic revival

(Encyclopedia)Gothic revival, term designating a return to the building styles of the Middle Ages. Although the Gothic revival was practiced throughout Europe, it attained its greatest importance in the United Stat...

Morris, William

(Encyclopedia)Morris, William, 1834–96, English poet, artist, craftsman, designer, social reformer, and printer. He has long been considered one of the great Victorians and has been called the greatest English de...

Victorian style

(Encyclopedia)Victorian style, in British and American architecture, an eclectic mode based on the revival of older styles, often in new combinations. Although the style is named after the reign (1837–1901) of Qu...

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Rossetti, Dante Gabriel rōsĕtˈē [key], 1828–82, English poet and painter; son of Gabriele Rossetti and brother of Christina Rossetti. He attended the Royal Academy and studied painting briefly ...