Introduction

In the Salon of 1846, Charles Baudelaire bitterly denounced the 'spirit of individualism' that had invaded the domain of art. It is significant from the point of the view that the first identifiable artistic brotherhood emerged in the studio of the French painter Jacques Louis David. Not surprisingly, while some excellent group studies exist, the vast majority of literature on the members of artistic brotherhoods is in the form of monographs. The artistic brotherhood is a distinct phenomenon within a wider spectrum of protest against the artistic hierarchies emerging from the Revolution. The importance of journals among artistic brotherhoods underlines their collaborative, communal spirit, and draws attention to spiritual or philosophical links over more formal ones. In the case of artistic brotherhoods it is certainly employed to protect their specialness. Much mystery and secrecy surrounded the various brotherhoods – their formation, membership and, most prominently, the 'initiation' and social rituals that drew the brothers together.