Armed with historical thinking techniques, in this section we will be examining the contemporary and historical contexts that the Pre-Raphaelite's were exposed to. They were active in the 1850s, the era of what was once Victorian England, a time during which the art academies tended to teach a Neoclassical artistic ideology. While this was their present-day context, the Pre-Raphaelite artists were also heavily influenced by the art and philosophies of the medieval and early Renaissance periods. The artists existed in the contemporary context of Victorian England, a time of great scientific, industrial, and social advancements. Their contemporary context influenced the way in which they would look for their own inspiration as they veered towards the artworks from before the time of the High Renaissance. Let us explore these two contexts and the effect they had on the artwork that came about as a result of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.