Browning, like Lippi, believed that art should simply imitate life, not try to convey moral messages or abstract themes. This is not so much anti-religious as a different version of religion. God made the world, therefore it is good and should be celebrated. A naturalist sentiment also pervaded the scientific efforts of the period. Science turned away from following doctrines or assuming expected results and instead performed experiments and based results purely on natural observation.
Nature is better than handed-down principles.
Editors Roma A. King, Jr. Publisher Ohio Univ.