Friday 4 December 2020

Edward Burne-Jones - part 3

1869-70 Sir Edward Burne-Jones by George Frederic Watts
oil on canvas
Birmingham Museums, UK


Edward Burne-Jones became a founding member of William Morris’s decorative art firm in 1861, where he produced countless designs and illustrations for books, tapestries, ceramic tiles, mosaics and stained glass. In 1862, he travelled to Italy where he was introduced to Botticelli, whose formal patterning profoundly influenced his subsequent development as a painter. His typical subject matter derived from medieval and classical legends charged with symbolism. In fact, he was pre-eminent in the Aesthetic movement in England and the Symbolist movement in Europe. A defining characteristic of Burne-Jones as an artist was his wilful blurring of the boundaries between his painting and his decorative work.

For more information on Burne-Jones see part 1, and for earlier works see parts 1 & 2 also.

This is part 3 of a 14-part series on the works of Edward Burne-Jones:

1862 Fair Rosamund and Queen Eleanor
ink, watercolour, gouache and gum on paper 26 x 27.3 cm
Tate, London

1862 Fatima
pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper laid on canvas 77.5 x 26.7 cm

1862 King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid
oil on canvas 76.2 x 63.5 cm
Tate, London

1862 Morgan le Fay
oil on canvas 96.5 x 48.2 cm
Leighton House Museum, London

1862 The Annunciation, the Flower of God
watercolour and gouache 60 x 53 cm
Private Collection

1862-63 The Liberation of St Peter
stained glass

1862-65 Sketch of Two Seated Figures: ‘Chant d’Amour’
graphite on paper 19 x 30.3 cm
Tate, London

1862-72 Ariadne watercolour and gouache
with opaque white,
heightened with gum arabic on wove paper 39.9 x 22.1 cm
© 2011 Art Gallery of Ontario
 

c1862 Studies of Drapery and the figure of the Virgin for the ‘Annunciation’ in the Church of St Martin’s-on-the-Hill, Scarborough, Yorkshire
graphite on paper 34 x 36.2 cm
Tate, London

c1862 Study for a Tile of the ‘Story of Beauty and the Beast’
graphite on paper 25.8 x 17.8 cm
Tate, London


Beauty and the Beast fireplace tile
by William Morris & Co.

c1862c Study of the Head of Tristram for ‘The Madness of Sir Tristram’
graphite on paper 10.1 x 13.1 cm
Tate, London

c1862 Two Studies of Tristram for ‘The Madness of Sir Tristram’
graphite on paper 20.7 x 24.1 cm
Tate, London

Note: The above studies look like they relate to the stained glass designs at Harden Grange (below). This c1892 painting of 'The Madness of Sir Tristram' also seems to incorporate the above studies:

c1892 The Madness of Sir Tristram
watercolour and gouache, heightened with gum arabic and gold 58.5 x 55.8 cm

1862 Harden Grange stained glass panels commissioned from Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. by Walter Dunlop for Harden Grange near Bingley Yorkshire (four by Burne-Jones):

In 1862 Burne-Jones made four designs for stained glass illustrating the story of Tristram and Isoude from Sir Thomas Malory's 'Morte d'Arthur'. These were part of a group commissioned by Walter Dunlop for his home at Bingley in Yorkshire. Other designs for the set were provided by Rossetti, Madox Brown, Morris, Valentine Prinsep and Arthur Hughes; the stained glass is now in Bradford City Art Gallery. Late in 1862 Burne-Jones reworked three of his cartoons as watercolours, including 'The Madness of Sir Tristram.'


1862 The attempted suicide of La Belle Isoude
stained glass Harden Grange

1862 The Madness of Sir Tristram,
stained glass at Harden Grange

1862 The Marriage of Tristram and Isoude Les Blanches Mains
study for the above stained glass?
graphite on paper 29.3 x 14.6 cm
Tate, London

1862 The Tomb of Tristram and Isoude
stained glass at Harden Grange

1862 The Tomb of Tristram and Isoude
stained glass design at Harden Grange

1863 Cinderella
watercolour and gouache on paper 65.7 x 30.4 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

c1863 Study for ‘Cinderella’
graphite on paper 33.7 x 19.7 cm
Tate, London

1863 King David the Poet
stained glass 82.6 x 49.5 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1863 The Merciful Knight

Based on an 11th-century legend retold by Sir Kenelm Digby in Broadstone of Honour, its hero is a Florentine knight named John Gaulbert. The explanatory inscription provided by Burne-Jones tells the viewer of a knight who forgave his enemy when he might have destroyed him and how the image of Christ kissed him in token that his acts had pleased God. 


1863 The Merciful Knight
watercolour and gouache on paper 101.4 x 58.6 cm
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, UK

c1863 Composition Study for ‘The Merciful Knight’
graphite on paper 22.2 x 15.7 cm
Tate, London

c1863 Composition Study for ‘The Merciful Knight’
graphite on paper 25.2 x 15.3 cm
Tate, London

c1863 Nude Study of the Knight for ‘The Merciful Knight’
graphite on paper 33 x 14.3 cm
Tate, London

1863c Study of Knight for ‘The Merciful Knight’
graphite on paper 24.8 x 17.5 cm
Tate, London

c1863 Stained Glass for St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hampshire:

1863 Design for stained glass South transept window
St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hants 
pen and grey and brown ink 34.6 x 23.4 cm
The British Museum, London

c1863 Study of a Seated Male Nude for ‘The Liberation of St Peter’
St Michael and All Angels, Lyndhurst, Hants
graphite and chalk on paper 16.8 x 12.7 cm
Tate, London

c1863 Two Studies of a Seated Male Nude for ‘The Liberation of St Peter’
St Michael and All Angels, Lyndhurst, Hants
 graphite and chalk on paper 17.9 x 33.5 cm
Tate, London

Design for An Angel Harpist St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hants
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

St Anne stained glass
St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hants

St Hannah stained glass
St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hants

St Monica stained glass
St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hants

St Rachel stained glass
St Michael and all Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hants

St Rachel stained glass detail

Designed c1864-70 Made 1868-70c Phyllida
hand-painted on tin-glazed earthenware Dutch blanks
77.2 x 30.2 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1864-70 Tiles (with William Morris)
hand-painted in various colours
Victoria & Albert Museum, London


c1864 Legend of Good Women

The 'Legend of Good Women' was written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1380s. It is an epic poem written in iambic pentameter describing how the personification of 'Amor' came to him in his sleep and related the stories of ten women from antiquity, all of whom suffered for love.


1863 Legend of Good Women - Griselda
pencil on buff paper 18.3 diameter
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1863-64 Drapery Study of Hypermnestra
pencil on cream toned paper 14.8 x 32.9 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1864 (made) Legend of Good Women
stained glass made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.

1864 Legend of Good Women - Amor and Alcestis
pencil, pen and brown wash on toned paper 49 x 46.5 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

c1864 Legend of Good Women - Hypsiphile and Medea
pencil, pen and brown wash on toned paper 49 x 46.2 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

Legend of Good Women
'Constance' satined glass



Wednesday 2 December 2020

Edward Burne-Jones - part 2

c1864 Sir Edward Burne-Jones by John Watkins, or by Cundall, Downes & Co
albumen carte-de-visite 9.2 x 5.9 cm
© National Portrait Gallery, London

Edward Burne-Jones became a founding member of William Morris’s decorative art firm in 1861, where he produced countless designs and illustrations for books, tapestries, ceramic tiles, mosaics and stained glass. In 1862, he travelled to Italy where he was introduced to Botticelli, whose formal patterning profoundly influenced his subsequent development as a painter. His typical subject matter derived from medieval and classical legends charged with symbolism. In fact, he was pre-eminent in the Aesthetic movement in England and the Symbolist movement in Europe. A defining characteristic of Burne-Jones as an artist was his wilful blurring of the boundaries between his painting and his decorative work.

For more information on Burne-Jones, and for earlier works, see part 1 also.

This is part 2 of a 14-part series on the works of Edward Burne-Jones.

1860c Charlemagne
design for embroidery 78.7 x 41.9 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1860 Tiles
earthenware painted in blue and white
Victoria & Albert Museum, London


c1860 Tiles
earthenware painted in blue and white
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

early 1860s Head Study of a Woman
red chalk over pencil, cream toned paper 13.7 x 18.2 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 11.1 x 16.6 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 11.4 x 8.7 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 11.4 x 8.7 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 11.4 x 16.3 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 11.7 x 9.2 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 15.4 x 20.7 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 16.5 x 10.9 cm

1860s The Story of Cupid and Psyche
wood engraving 20.1 x 15 cm

1860s-70s Study of two male figures for the unfinished painting 'Styx' 
black chalk on paper 23.5 x 13.5 cm
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

1860s-70s Study of two male figures for the unfinished painting 'Styx'
graphite on paper 18 x 12.8 cm
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

c1873 Souls on the Banks of the River Styx
oil on canvas 89 x 69.8 cm

1861 Dido
graphite and watercolour on fabric 25.4 x 12.7 cm
Tate, London

1861 Fair Rosamund and Queen Eleanor
mixed media on paper 49.5 x 37.5 cm
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT

1861 Figure of a Queen
watercolour and graphite on fabric 25.4 x 13 cm
Tate, London

1861 King René's Honeymoon
pen, India ink and wash over coloured chalk and pencil, on paper 34.2 x 55 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1861 Merlin and Nimue
watercolour and gouache 94.2 x 81.5 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1861 The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi

This Triptych was originally commissioned for the Church of St Paul's, Brighton. It is one of the most important large-scale works from the early part of Burne-Jones's career. After it had been installed in St Paul's he decided that the central panel was too complicated and went on to paint a second version for the church. His handling of the Biblical story owes much to the paintings of the Italian Renaissance, particularly to nativity scenes by Fra Angelico and Tintoretto. He was also influenced by Rossetti, who was then working on a triptych for Llandaff Cathedral. Among those who modelled for the picture were William and Jane Morris, and the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne.

1861 The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi
oil on three canvases
108.6 x 73.7 cm / 108.6 x 156.2 cm / 108.6 x 73.7 cm
Tate, London

1861 The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi 
oil on canvas 108.6 x 73.7 cm
Tate, London

1861 The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi
oil on canvas 108.6 x 156.2 cm
 Tate, London

1861 The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi
oil on canvas 108.6 x 73.7 cm
 Tate, London

1861 The Goldfish Pool
oil on canvas
Tulle House Museum and Art Gallery Trust, Carlisle, UK

1861 Thisbe
graphite and watercolour on fabric 25.4 x 13.3 cm
Tate, London

1861-62 Theseus and the Minotaur

Burne-Jones's accounts for early 1862 list two designs for 'Theseus' tiles, of which this is the only one known, but may have been executed as early as 1861. It shows a four five-inch tile format for the narrative scene and a mediaeval-style interpretation of the subject matter, with Theseus dressed in a tunic of Late Gothic damask or brocade and the Minotaur peering, gargoyle-like, round the labyrinth wall. It derives not from ancient mythology, but from Chaucer's retelling of the Greek story in his 'Legend of Good Women', which explains its medieval character.


1861-62 Theseus and the Minotaur in the Labyrinth
tile design pencil, brown wash, pen and ink on paper 25.5 x 26.1 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1861-64 (made) Dido and Cleopatra
stained glass 47 x 43.2 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1861-64 (made) The God of Love and Alceste
stained glass 47 x 53.2 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1861 Clerk Saunders

Burne-Jones had a 'passionate sympathy' for Sir Walter Scott's collection of romantic ballads, 'The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border'. One of the poems in the anthology was the source of this watercolour. The incident depicted comes at the end of the ballad of 'Clerk Saunders', when Margaret is visited by the spirit of her dead lover, the Clerk of the title, who has been murdered by her brothers. The flowing lines of the costumes are self-consciously mediaeval and may have been inspired by the clothes William Morris designed for his wife and other women of his and Burne-Jones's circle.


1861 Clerk Saunders
watercolour on paper 69.9 x 41.8 cm
Tate, London

c1861 Study for Clerk Saunders
graphite on paper 29.7 x 14.8 cm
Tate, London

1861 Sketchbook 
Graphite, pen and ink, watercolour 
Victoria & Albert Museum, London









1861 The Backgammon Players

Made the year William Morris’s design firm was founded, this cabinet is one of the company’s earliest attempts to fine and applied arts. The architect Philip Webb devised the frame and Byrne-Jones ornamented the doors with a game-playing couple; a traditional metaphor for courtship.

When the piece was shown in the Mediaeval Court at the International Exhibition in London in 1862, critics disparaged the “crude” structure and colour, but praised the “beautifully painted” figures.


c1861 Possibly a study for The Backgammon Players
graphite on paper 21 x 22.5 cm
Tate, London

1861 The Backgammon Players
painted and gilded pine, painted leather, copper hardware, painted iron hinges
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1861 The Backgammon Players 
detail

1861 The Backgammon Players 
detail

c1861 Head of a Girl 
graphite on paper 18.6 x 14 cm
Tate, London


c1861 Head of a Man 
graphite on paper 11.4 x 13 cm
Tate, London

c1861 Head of a Woman
graphite on paper 14 x 16.6 cm
Tate, London

c1861 Study for The Adoration of the Magi
graphite on paper 15.4 x 14.5 cm
Tate, London

1861c Woman in an Interior
graphite and watercolour on paper 22.5 x 31.8 cm
Tate, London

1862 (published) Sigurd the Crusader
engraved by the Dalziel Brothers
wood engraving on paper 15.6 x 11.4 cm
Tate, London

1861-80 Cupid and Psyche 

1865 Study for Cupid and Psyche
 black and white chalk on brown paper 42.5 x 27.5 cm
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
© President and Fellows of Harvard College

1865-67 Cupid and Psyche
oil on canvas
Manchester Art Gallery, UK

1866 Cupid finding Psyche
watercolour and gouache
The British Museum, London

1867 Cupid Delivering Psyche
watercolour, body colour, chalk & oil pastel on paper 52.1 x 61 cm
The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum, Bedford, UK

1870 Cupid and Psyche
(Maria Cassavetti Zambaco, model) 
Clemens-Sels-Museum, Dusseldorf, Germany

1870 Study for Cupid finding Psyche
graphite on paper 19.3 x 16 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

1870c Cupid finding Psyche
watercolour, gouache and pastel on wove paper mounted on linen 70.2 x 48.3 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, CT

1872-80 Cupid finding Psyche asleep by a Fountain
oil on canvas 124.5 x 119.5 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1872-81 Psyche receiving the Casket back
oil on canvas 119 x 183 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

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