Contextualisation of King Arthur's legend in 19th centuryand its representation in visual arts

This study aims to contextualise the representation of King Arthur's Legend, starting from King Arthur's identity, the primary sources and the main theme of the legend, in visual arts specific to Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 19th century. Following the First Chapter, in which are addressed the issues of King Arthur's identity, the general description and the primary sources and the main theme of the legend that reaches today after evolving through centuries, The Second Chapter discusses further about the situation of England – considered to be the setting of the legend - that was revolutionised after Industrial Revolution, The Victorian Medievalism in which Medieval Age is idealised, the reasons of that concept, Gothic Revival and Religious Revival awakened by the sublimed Medieval Age. The Third Chapter scrutinizes The Royal Academy which was dominant in the world of art of 19th century England, arising of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which are in a revolutionary attitude by opposing to the teaching method of the academy, their nutritious sources and the Brotherhood's evolving by time. Due to their deep interest in Medieval Age, Arts and Crafts Movement of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which portrays the works of art about King Arthur's Legend and so makes the legend popular, and their connection with The Aesthetic Movement have been mentioned in general. In the Fourth Chapter, which composes of the main theme of the study, in terms of the representation of King Arthur's Legend in art, notably England as setting and Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, by including other popular artists, the most portrayed art works in visual arts about the legend and the literary texts which are taken as reference by those art works are determined, have been categorised and presented in detail with reference to the essential points such as their lexical dimension, their descriptive differences and their chronology. Key Words: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, King Arthur Legend, Victorian Age, Gothic Revival, Medieval Age, Britain.