Later in T.F. Dicksee life like his oldest son Sir Francis, they came upon the Pre-Raphaeite movement. The movement was based on the belief that all art since Raphael (1483-1520) was detestable. Their credo: to be true to nature. Essentially a lark, astonishing the vague concept took root. Using family and friends as models, the group started turning out paintings of mythical scenes and was championed by the powerful art critic John Ruskin. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was dispersed by 1860, but the movement remained a strong influence on Victorian painting until about 1900.

T.F. Dicksee painted “Cleopatra” in 1876 . It is considered a Pre-Raphaelite picture in the terms of the subject and detail.

Listed:
Dictionary of British Art, Volume IV, The Dictionary of Victorian Painters, 2nd Edition, Christopher Wood, page 127
E. Benezit, p.566
Cyclopedia of  Painters and Paintings, Vol. 1, p.405
Thieme / Becker, p. 220