The Pre-Raphaelite is an 1856 oil painting by the British artist Henry Nelson O'Neil.Cooper p.22 It shows an artist sitting at work on a painting on an easel as his two models pose for him. The picture was intended as a satirical take on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, then at the height of its prominence.Pointon p.66-73 The artist is shown depicting a scene from the Romantic poem Love and Duty by Alfred Tennyson, who was a particular inspiration to the Pre-Raphaelites.https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/british-european-art/henry-nelson-oneil-a-r-a-british-1817-1880-44/138578
O'Neil was a member of The Clique, a group of artists that pre-dated the Pre-Raphaelites by a decade. They were also critical of many of the rules of traditional Academic art, but remained hostile to the style of the Pre-Raphaelites, particularly O'Neil.https://victorianweb.org/painting/oneil/index.html It was displayed at the 1857 exhibition of the British Institute in London along with a pendant painting The Post Raphaelite under the joint subtitle Two Extremes. The pendant painting made similar fun of a too-Academic style of painting. The two works were discussed in The Art Journal. It was auctioned by Christie's in 2021.https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/british-european-art/henry-nelson-oneil-a-r-a-british-1817-1880-44/138578
References
Bibliography Cooper, Suzanne Fagence. Pre-Raphaelite Art in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Harry N. Abrams, 2003. Pointon, Marcia R. (ed.) Pre-Raphaelites Re-viewed. Manchester University Press, 1989.