The Brotherhood of Ruralists

Synopsis

In today's programme Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen hears how a group of artists, fed up with the restrictive art scene of the capital, set up the Brotherhood of Ruralists on 21st March 1975. Inspired by the inspirational qualities of Mother Nature, the group, which included the pop artist, Peter Blake, turned to the countryside to fulfil one of its ancient functions- that of a Muse.

The Ruralists aimed to revive and update the tradition of imaginative painting of romantic figure subjects in idyllic rural settings - their forebears The Pre-Raphaelites had set out on a similar mission before them- but in the 1970s, this was somewhat unfashionable in Swinging London. The group depicted the compendium of myths, folk tales and legends associated with the countryside, giving the imagined world as much solidity in their paintings as the physical landscape underpinning them. Their paintings crystallized the intuition that in the country there lies a potent source of inspiration and imagery that they as artists should not ignore.

Producer: Kate Bland
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.