James Collinson

James Collinson (9 May 1825 – 24 January 1881) was a Victorian painter who was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood from 1848 to 1850. Collinson was a devout Christian who was attracted to the devotional and high church aspects of Pre-Raphaelitism. A convert to Catholicism, Collinson reverted to high Anglicanism in order to marry Christina Rossetti, but his conscience forced his return to Catholicism and the break-up of the engagement. When... more

James Collinson (9 May 1825 – 24 January 1881) was a Victorian painter who was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood from 1848 to 1850. Collinson was a devout Christian who was attracted to the devotional and high church aspects of Pre-Raphaelitism. A convert to Catholicism, Collinson reverted to high Anglicanism in order to marry Christina Rossetti, but his conscience forced his return to Catholicism and the break-up of the engagement. When Millais' painting Christ in the House of his Parents was accused of blasphemy, Collinson resigned from the Brotherhood in the belief that it was bringing the Christian religion into disrepute. During his period as a Pre-Raphaelite, Collinson contributed a long devotional poem to The Germ and produced a number of religious works, most importantly The Renunciation of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1850). After his resignation Collinson trained for the priesthood at a Jesuit college, but did not complete his studies. In 1858 he married Eliza Wheeler,... less