Monday 4 January 2021

Edward Burne-Jones part-14

1898-1907 Sir Edward Burne-Jones by Alfred James Philpott for Elliott & Fry
published by Ogden' cigarette card
© 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 see part 1, and for earlier works see parts 1 - 13 also.

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


1886 A Memorial to Laura Lyttelton
bodycolour, on gilded gesso 86.3 x 40.7 cm

1886 Katie Lewis
oil on canvas 61 x 127 cm


1886 Study
black chalk on paper 18 x 16 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1886 The Morning of the Resurrection:

Burne-Jones began this painting in 1882, but did not complete it until four years later, when it was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery. The scene depicted is Mary Magdalene's visit to the empty tomb, where she encounters the resurrected Christ, accompanied by angels. After the death of the Hon.Laura Lyttleton (nee Tennant), a young friend of whom the artist was particularly fond, Burne-Jones inscribed a personal memorial or 'oblation' in the lower left-hand corner. He made at least two other versions of the subject.


1886 The Morning of the Resurrection
oil on wood 84.5 x 151.1 cm Tate, London

1886 The Morning of the Resurrection detail

1886 The Morning of the Resurrection detail

1886 The Morning of the Resurrection study for the head of Mary Magdalene  
oil on canvas 55.2 x 38 cm
Worcester College, University of Oxford, UK

1886-87 Holy Trinity Church, Northwood
The Grosvenor Memorial Window, Lady Chapel
'Trumpeting Angels' stained glass

1886 The Depths of the Sea
study for a head of a mermaid graphite on paper
26 x 20.3 cm

1887 The Depths of the Sea Wand
gouache on wove paper mounted on panel 197 x 76 cm
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
© President and Fellows of Harvard College

1886-87 The Garden of Pan
oil on canvas 125.5 x 186.9 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1886-1920 Flora
wool, silk, cotton, Tapestry Weave 176 x 102 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA

1886-1920 Pomona
wool, silk, cotton, Tapestry Weave 180 x 100 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA


c1886 Sibylla Delphica
oil on panel 152 x 60.3 cm
Manchester Art Gallery, UK
c1886 Study for The Garden of Pan
graphite on paper 21.5 x 17.8 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

1887 (made 1900-02) The Adoration of the Magi
wool and silk 251.2 x 372.5 cm
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

1887-88 Danaë and the Brazen Tower (aka The Tower of Brass)
oil on panel 231 x 113 cm
Glasgow Museums Resource Centre

c1887-88 Study for The King and the Shepherd
watercolour, gouache, pastel and metallic paint over charcoal 38.7 x 59.7 cm

1888 The King and the Shepherd
oil on canvas 206.3 x 316.2 cm

1887 The Nativity study
graphite on paper laid down on board 40 x 61.9

1888 The Nativity
oil on canvas 205.7 x 316.2 cm
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA

1887-91 The Star of Bethlehem

The Star of Bethlehem depicts the Adoration of the Magi with an angel holding the Star of Bethlehem. It was commissioned by the Corporation of the City of Birmingham for its new Museum and Art Gallery in 1887, two years after Burne-Jones was elected Honorary President of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.  The Star of Bethlehem was the largest watercolour of the 19th century. It was completed in 1890 and was first exhibited in 1891


1887-91 The Star of Bethlehem
watercolour and bodycolour with scraping on ten sheetsof J Whatman Turkey Mill Kent paper 260 x 390 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

1887-91 The Star of Bethlehem detail

1887-91 The Star of Bethlehem detail

1888 Adoration of the Magi
photographic paper heightened with bodycolour and watercolour 240 x 376 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1888 The Doom Fulfilled 
mixed media on paper 153.8 x 138.4 cm  
Southampton City Art Gallery, UK  
© 2018 Southampton City Art Gallery All rights reserved 
 



1888 The Doom Fulfilled 1875 study Perseus and Andromeda 
watercolour, white gouache, shell gold, and coloured chalks on off-white card 34.3 x 32.3 cm 
Harvard Art Museums  
© President and Fellows of Harvard College

1888 The Doom Fulfilled 1885 study 
graphite on paper 27.3 x 18.2 cm  
The British Museum, London

1888 Tree of Life

This watercolour represents one of several large-scale decorations that Burne-Jones undertook for St Paul's Within-the-Walls, the American Episcopal Church in Rome. It shows the design fitted into a lobed space above the second chancel arch. Its subject is Christ crucified before a Tree of Life, the latter symbolising the eternal life that he died to give. Unusually, Christ is flanked by Adam and Eve rather than the traditional figures of St John and the Virgin Mary. The sheaves of corn allude to Adam's curse to till the fields. The thorns of the brier rose, juxtaposed with the lilies, symbolic of purity, refer to Eve's sinfulness. The Latin inscription means, 'you shall have affliction in the world, but have faith, for I have overcome the world'. The decoration was executed in mosaic, a medium much used in 5th- and 6th-century Byzantine decorations. Burne-Jones greatly admired their simplified forms. 

1888 Tree of Life: Study for American Episcopal Church Mosaics 
watercolour and gouache 181 x 242 cm 
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1888-1891 Standing Draped Figure in Profile 
black and white pastel with touches of graphite, on tan wove paper 34.5 x 16.8 cm  
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1889 Heart of the Rose 
oil on canvas 96.5 x 132.1 cm  
Roy MIles Gallery, London

1889 Study 
red chalk on paper 34.4 x 27.9 cm  
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

c1889 (made) Ceramic Dish earthenware with lustre decoration 'Orpheus and the Muses, designed by Edward Burne-Jones, executed at William De Morgan's workshops 
30 cm diameter  
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

1892 Ignacy Jan Paderewski
graphite on paper
The National Museum, Warsaw, Poland


1890 Ignacy Jan Paderewski
oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm
Royal College of Music, London

1890 Portrait head of Kate Dolan
graphite black, white and red chalk on tinted tuscan red paper 25.9 x 24.9 cm

1890 Study of a Female Head
yellow, red, and green pastel with fabricated black crayon on red paper 37.6 x 26.9 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1890 Study of the Head of a young Woman
graphite and black chalk on paper 29.2 x 19.1 cm

1890-94 The Arming and Departure of the Knights of the Round Table on the Quest for the Holy Grail
 cotton warp, wool and silk weft tapestry 240 x 347 cm
Private Collection

1890-98 Man's Head
lithograph on a coloured sheet of chine collé 19.3 x 16.2 cm
The British Museum, London

c1890 Decorative Design: Sun Ripening Corn
gold paint and watercolour on paper 25 x 17.9 cm
Tate, London

c1890 Lady Picking Flowers
pen and black ink over graphite 10.2 x 8.5 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1890 Portrait of Lady Colvin
graphite on paper 37.9 x 35.4 cm
The British Museum, London

c1890 The Sleeping Beauty
oil on canvas 60 x 115 cm
Museo de Arte de Ponce in San Juan, Puerto Rico

1890s Bath of Venus
metallic paint over graphite 25.2 x 17 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1890s Helen of Troy
watercolour and shell gold on brown wove paper
 26.8 x 14.7 cm
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA 
© President and Fellows of Harvard College

1891 Spona de Libano (The Bride of Lebanon)
watercolour
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK

c1891-98 The Sirens
oil on canvas 213.4 x 305.9 cm
The Ringling State Art Museum of Florida

The Sirens
pastel
Private Collection

1890s The Holy Grail tapestries woven by Morris & Co. 1891-94 for Stanmore Hall:

The Knights of the Round Table Summoned to the Quest by the Strange Damsel
wool and silk on cotton warp
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

The Knights of the Round Table Summoned to the Quest by the Strange Damsel
Study for the Head of Gawaine
fabricated black crayon on paper 38.1 x 22.8 cm

The Arming and Departure of the Knights
wool and silk on cotton warp
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

Verdure with Deer and Shields
wool and silk on cotton warp
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

The Failure of Sir Gawaine: Sir Gawaine and Sir Uwaine at the Ruined Chapel
wool and silk on cotton warp
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

The Ship
wool and silk on cotton warp
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

The Attainment: The Vision of the Holy Grail to Sir Galahad, Sir Bors, and Sir Perceval
wool and silk on cotton warp
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

c1891-98 The Car of Love, or Love's Wayfaring

ictoria & Albert Museum, London:

c1891-98 The Car of Love
oil on canvas 518.2 x 273 cm
Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Study for the 'Chariot of Love', or 'Love's Wayfaring'
black and white chalk on brown paper, lightly squared
91.8 x 91.8 cm

Study for The Car of Love
black chalk on paper

The Car of Love, or Love's Wayfaring
pastel, brush drawing and charcoal 339.1 x 211.2 cm
Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand

Study for The Car of Love
charcoal on paper adhered to canvas 162 x 89 cm
Falmouth Art Gallery, Cornwall, UK





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