Edward Burne-Jones
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Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman Hunt. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co in the design of decorative arts. Burne-Jones's early paintings show the influence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but by 1870 he had developed his own style. In 1877, he exhibited eight oil paintings at the Grosvenor Gallery (a new rival to the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
). These included '' The Beguiling of Merlin''. The timing was right and Burne-Jones was taken up as a herald and star of the new
Aesthetic Movement Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...
. In the studio of Morris and Co. Burne-Jones worked as a designer of a wide range of crafts including ceramic tiles, jewellery, tapestries, and
mosaics A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
. Among his most significant and lasting designs are those for
stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
the production of which was a revived craft during the 19th century. His designs are still to be found in churches across the UK, with examples in the US and Australia.


Early life

Born Edward Coley Burne Jones (the hyphenation of his last names was introduced later) was born in Birmingham, the son of a Welshman, Edward Richard Jones, a frame-maker at Bennetts Hill, where a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
commemorates the painter's childhood. His mother Elizabeth Jones (née Coley) died within six days of his birth, and Edward was raised by his father, and the family housekeeper, Ann Sampson, an obsessively affectionate but humourless, and unintellectual local girl. He attended Birmingham's King Edward VI grammar school in 1844 and the
Birmingham School of Art The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...
from 1848 to 1852, before studying theology at Exeter College, Oxford. At Oxford, he became a friend of William Morris as a consequence of a mutual interest in poetry. The two Exeter undergraduates, together with a group of Jones' friends from Birmingham known as the Birmingham Set, formed a society, which they called "The Brotherhood". The members of the brotherhood read the works of John Ruskin and Tennyson, visited churches, and idealised aspects of the aesthetics and social structure of the Middle Ages. At this time, Burne-Jones discovered Thomas Malory's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...
'' which would become a substantial influential in his life. At that time, neither Burne-Jones nor Morris knew Dante Gabriel Rossetti personally, but both were much influenced by his works, and later met him by recruiting him as a contributor to their ''Oxford and Cambridge Magazine'', founded by Morris in 1856 to promote the Brotherhood’s ideas. Burne-Jones had intended to become a church minister, but under Rossetti's influence both he and Morris decided to become artists, and Burne-Jones left college before taking a degree to pursue a career in art. In February 1857, Rossetti wrote to
William Bell Scott William Bell Scott (1811–1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and occasionally printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vivid picture of life in the ...
:


Marriage and family

In 1856 Burne-Jones became engaged to Georgiana "Georgie" MacDonald (1840–1920), one of the MacDonald sisters. She was training to be a painter, and was the sister of Burne-Jones's old school friend. The couple married in 1860, after which she made her own work in woodcuts, and became a close friend of George Eliot. (Another MacDonald sister married the artist Sir Edward Poynter, a further sister married the ironmaster
Alfred Baldwin Alfred Baldwin may refer to: * Alfred Baldwin (politician) (1841–1908), English businessman and Conservative MP, father of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin * Alfred C. Baldwin III (1936–2020), "shadow man" in the 1972 Watergate break-in *Alfr ...
and was the mother of the Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
, and yet another sister was the mother of Rudyard Kipling. Kipling and Baldwin were thus Burne-Jones's nephews by marriage). Georgiana gave birth to a son,
Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, in 1861. In the winter of 1864, she became gravely ill with
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
and gave birth to a second son who died soon thereafter. The family then moved to 41 Kensington Square, and their daughter Margaret was born there in 1866. In 1867 Burne-Jones and his family settled at the Grange, an 18th-century house set in a garden in North End, Fulham, London. For the 1870s Burne-Jones did not exhibit, following a number of bitterly hostile attacks in the press, and a passionate affair (described as the "emotional climax of his life") with his Greek model
Maria Zambaco Maria Zambaco (29 April 1843, London – 14 July 1914, Paris), born Marie Terpsithea Cassavetti ( el, Μαρία Τερψιθέα Κασσαβέτη, sometimes spelled Maria Tepsithia Kassavetti or referred to as Mary), was a British artist and m ...
, which ended with her trying to commit
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
by throwing herself in Regent's Canal. During these difficult years Georgiana developed a friendship with Morris, whose wife Jane had fallen in love with Rossetti. Morris and Georgie may have been in love, but if he asked her to leave her husband, she refused. In the end, the Burne-Joneses remained together, as did the Morrises, but Morris and Georgiana were close for the rest of their lives. In 1880, the Burne-Joneses bought Prospect House in Rottingdean, near
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in Sussex, as their holiday home and soon after, the next door
Aubrey Cottage Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-Germani ...
to create
North End House North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
, reflecting the fact that their Fulham home was in North End Road. (Years later, in 1923, Sir Roderick Jones, head of Reuters, and his wife, playwright and novelist Enid Bagnold, were to add the adjacent
Gothic House Gothic House (later known as The Priory or Priory Lodge when still in residential use) is a Gothic-style building in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Although it has been in commercial use for more than a c ...
to the property, which became the inspiration and setting for her play '' The Chalk Garden''). His troubled son Philip, who became a successful portrait painter, died in 1926. His adored daughter Margaret (died 1953) married John William Mackail (1850–1945), the friend and biographer of Morris, and Professor of Poetry at Oxford from 1911 to 1916. Their children were the novelists
Angela Thirkell Angela Margaret Thirkell (; , 30 January 1890 – 29 January 1961) was an English and Australian novelist. She also published one novel, ''Trooper to Southern Cross'', under the pseudonym Leslie Parker. Early life She was the elder daughter of ...
and Denis Mackail, and the youngest, Clare Mackail. In an edition of the boys' magazine, Chums (No. 227, Vol.  V, 13 January 1897), an article on Burne-Jones stated that "....his pet grandson used to be punished by being sent to stand in a corner with his face to the wall. One day on being sent there, he was delighted to find the wall prettily decorated with fairies, flowers, birds, and bunnies. His indulgent grandfather had utilised his talent to alleviate the tedium of his favourite's period of penance."


Artistic career


Early years: Rossetti and Morris

Burne-Jones once admitted that after leaving Oxford he "found himself at five-and-twenty what he ought to have been at fifteen". He had had no regular training as a draughtsman, and lacked the confidence of science. But his extraordinary faculty of invention as a designer was already ripening; his mind, rich in knowledge of classical story and medieval romance, teemed with pictorial subjects, and he set himself to complete his set of skills by resolute labour, witnessed by his drawings. The works of this first period are all more or less tinged by the influence of Rossetti; but they are already differentiated from the elder master's style by their more facile though less intensely felt elaboration of imaginative detail. Many are pen-and-ink drawings on vellum, exquisitely finished, of which his ''Waxen Image'' (1856) is one of the earliest and best examples. Although the subject, medium and manner derive from Rossetti's inspiration, it is not the hand of a pupil merely, but of a potential master. This was recognised by Rossetti himself, who before long avowed that he had nothing more to teach him. Burne-Jones's first sketch in oils dates from this same year, 1856, and during 1857 he made for Bradfield College the first of what was to be an immense series of cartoons for stained glass. In 1858 he decorated a cabinet with the ''Prioress's Tale'' from
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
's '' Canterbury Tales'', his first direct illustration of the work of a poet whom he especially loved and who inspired him with endless subjects. Thus early, therefore, we see the artist busy in all the various fields in which he was to labour. In the autumn of 1857 Burne-Jones joined Morris, Valentine Prinsep, J. R. Spencer Stanhope and others in Rossetti's ill-fated scheme to decorate the walls of the Oxford Union. None of the painters had mastered the technique of
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
, and their pictures had begun to peel from the walls before they were completed. In 1859 Burne-Jones made his first journey to Italy. He saw Florence,
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
, Siena,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and other places, and appears to have found the gentle and romantic
Sienese Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centu ...
more attractive than any other school. Rossetti's influence persisted, and is visible, more strongly perhaps than ever before, in the two watercolours of 1860, ''Sidonia von Bork'' and ''Clara von Bork.'' Both paintings illustrate the 1849
gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
''Sidonia the Sorceress'' by Lady Wilde, a translation of ''Sidonia Von Bork: Die Klosterhexe'' (1847) by Johann Wilhelm Meinhold.


Painting

In 1864, Burne-Jones was elected an associate of the
Society of Painters in Water-Colours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...
—which is known as the Old Water-Colour Society—and exhibited, among other works, '' The Merciful Knight'', the first picture which fully revealed his ripened personality as an artist. The next six years saw a series of fine watercolours at the same gallery. In 1866, Mrs. Cassavetti commissioned Burne-Jones to paint her daughter,
Maria Zambaco Maria Zambaco (29 April 1843, London – 14 July 1914, Paris), born Marie Terpsithea Cassavetti ( el, Μαρία Τερψιθέα Κασσαβέτη, sometimes spelled Maria Tepsithia Kassavetti or referred to as Mary), was a British artist and m ...
, in ''Cupid finding Psyche'', an introduction which led to their tragic affair. In 1870, Burne-Jones resigned his membership following a controversy over his painting ''Phyllis and Demophoön''.'' ''The features of Maria Zambaco were clearly recognisable in the barely draped Phyllis, and the undraped nakedness of Demophoön coupled with the suggestion of female sexual assertiveness offended
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
sensibilities. Burne-Jones was asked to make a slight alteration, but instead "withdrew not only the picture from the walls, but himself from the Society."During the next seven years, 1870–1877, only two works of the painter's were exhibited. These were two water-colours, shown at the
Dudley Gallery Dudley Museum and Art Gallery was a public museum and art gallery located in the town centre of Dudley in the West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1883, situated within buildings on St James's Road, and remained at that site until its closur ...
in 1873, one of them being the beautiful ''
Love Among the Ruins Love Among the Ruins may refer to: Literature * "Love Among the Ruins" (poem), a poem by Robert Browning * '' Love Among the Ruins. A Romance of the Near Future'', a novel by Evelyn Waugh * ''Love Among the Ruins'', a novel by Warwick Deeping * '' ...
'', destroyed twenty years later by a cleaner who supposed it to be an oil painting, but afterwards reproduced in oils by the painter. This silent period was, however, one of unremitting production. Hitherto, Burne-Jones had worked almost entirely in water-colours. He now began pictures in oils, working at them in turn, and having them on hand. The first ''Briar Rose'' series, ''Laus Veneris,'' the ''Golden Stairs,'' the ''Pygmalion'' series, and ''The Mirror of Venus'' are among the works planned and completed, or carried far towards completion, during these years. The beginnings of Burne-Jones' partnership with the fine-art photographer Frederick Hollyer, whose reproductions of paintings and—especially—drawings would expose an audience to Burne-Jones's works in the coming decades, began during this period. At last, in May 1877, the day of recognition came with the opening of the first exhibition of the Grosvenor Gallery, when the ''Days of Creation,'' '' The Beguiling of Merlin,'' and the ''Mirror of Venus'' were all shown. Burne-Jones followed up the signal success of these pictures with ''Laus Veneris,'' the ''Chant d'Amour,'' ''Pan and Psyche,'' and other works, exhibited in 1878. Most of these pictures are painted in brilliant colours. A change is noticeable in 1879 in the ''Annunciation'' and in the four pictures making up the second series of ''Pygmalion and the Image''; the former of these, one of the simplest and most perfect of the artist's works, is subdued and sober; in the latter a scheme of soft and delicate tints was attempted, not with entire success. A similar temperance of colours marks '' The Golden Stairs,'' first exhibited in 1880. The almost sombre '' Wheel of Fortune'' was shown in 1883, followed in 1884 by '' King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid,'' in which Burne-Jones once more indulged his love of gorgeous colour, refined by the period of self-restraint. He next turned to two important sets of pictures, ''The Briar Rose'' and ''The Story of Perseus,'' although these were not completed.


Decorative arts

In 1861, William Morris founded the decorative arts firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. with Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and Philip Webb as partners, together with Charles Faulkner and
Peter Paul Marshall Peter Paul Marshall (1830 – 16 February 1900) was a Scottish civil engineer and amateur painter, and a founding partner of the decorative arts firm Morris & Co., Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. Marshall was born in Edinburgh, the son of loc ...
, the former of whom was a member of the Oxford Brotherhood, and the latter a friend of Brown and Rossetti. The prospectus set forth that the firm would undertake carving,
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
, metal-work, paper-hangings, chintzes (printed fabrics), and carpets. The decoration of churches was from the first an important part of the business. The work shown by the firm at the
1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...
attracted notice, and later it was flourishing. Two significant secular commissions helped establish the firm's reputation in the late 1860s: a royal project at
St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...
and the "green dining room" at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert) of 1867 which featured stained glass windows and panel figures by Burne-Jones. In 1871 Morris & Co. were responsible for the windows at All Saints, designed by Burne-Jones for
Alfred Baldwin Alfred Baldwin may refer to: * Alfred Baldwin (politician) (1841–1908), English businessman and Conservative MP, father of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin * Alfred C. Baldwin III (1936–2020), "shadow man" in the 1972 Watergate break-in *Alfr ...
, his wife's brother-in-law. The firm was reorganised as Morris & Co. in 1875, and Burne-Jones continued to contribute designs for stained glass, and later tapestries until the end of his career. Nine windows designed by him and made by Morris & Co were installed in Holy Trinity Church in Frome. Stained glass windows in the Christ Church cathedral and other buildings in Oxford are by Morris & Co. with designs by Burne-Jones.Edward Burne-Jones
Southgate Green Association "His work included both stained-glass windows for Christ Church in Oxford and the stained glass windows for Christ Church on Southgate Green."

University of Texas
Other windows are in
St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham The Cathedral Church of Saint Philip is the Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. Built as a parish church in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer, it was consecrated in 1715. Located on Colmore Row in central Birmin ...
,
St Martin in the Bull Ring St Martin in the Bull Ring is a Church of England parish church in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It is the original parish church of Birmingham and stands between the Bull Ring Shopping Centre and the markets. The church is ...
, Birmingham,
Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, Chelsea The Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity with Saint Jude, Upper Chelsea, commonly called Holy Trinity Sloane Street or Holy Trinity Sloane Square, is a Church of England parish church in London, England. It was built in 1888–90 at the ...
, St Peter and St Paul parish church in Cromer, St Martin's Church in Brampton, Cumbria (the church designed by Philip Webb), St Michael's Church, Brighton, Trinity Church in Frome, All Saints, Jesus Lane, Cambridge,
St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...
,
St Anne's Church, Brown Edge St Anne's Church is an Anglican church in Brown Edge, Staffordshire, England, and in the Diocese of Lichfield. The building is Grade II listed. History and description In the early 19th century the inhabitants of Brown Edge were miners who worke ...
, Staffordshire Moorlands, and St Edward the Confessor church at Cheddleton Staffordshire. Stanmore Hall was the last major decorating commission executed by Morris & Co. before Morris's death in 1896. It was the most extensive commission undertaken by the firm, and included a series of tapestries based on the story of the Holy Grail for the dining room, with figures by Burne-Jones. In 1891 Jones was elected a member of the Art Workers Guild.


Illustration

Although known primarily as a painter, Burne-Jones was active as an illustrator, helping the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic to enter mainstream awareness. He designed books for the Kelmscott Press between 1892 and 1898. His illustrations appeared in the following books, among others: * ''The Fairy Family'' by
Archibald Maclaren Archibald MacLaren (29 January 1820 – 19 February 1884) or Maclaren was a Scottish fencing master, gymnast, educator and author who in 1858 opened a well-equipped gymnasium at the University of Oxford where from 1860 to 1861 he trained 12 ...
(1857) * '' The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'' by William Morris (1872) * ''
The Earthly Paradise ''The Earthly Paradise'' by William Morris is an epic poem. It is a lengthy collection of retellings of various myths and legends from Greece and Scandinavia. Publication began in 1868 and several later volumes followed until 1870. The volumes w ...
'' by William Morris (not completed) * ''The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer'' by
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
(1896) * ''Bible Gallery'' by Dalziel (1881)


Design for the theatre

In 1894, theatrical manager and actor Henry Irving commissioned Burne-Jones to design sets and costumes for the Lyceum Theatre production of ''King Arthur'' by J. Comyns Carr, who was Burne-Jones's patron and the director of the New Gallery as well as a playwright. The play starred Irving as King Arthur and Ellen Terry as
Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
, and toured America following its London run. Burne-Jones accepted the commission with enthusiasm, but was disappointed with much of the final result. He wrote confidentially to his friend Helen Mary Gaskell (known as May), "The armour is good—they have taken pains with it ... Perceval looked the one romantic thing in it ... I hate the stage, don't tell—but I do."


Aesthetics

Burne-Jones's paintings were one strand in the evolving tapestry of Aestheticism from the 1860s through the 1880s, which considered that art should be valued as an object of beauty engendering a sensual response, rather than for the story or moral implicit in the subject matter. In many ways this was antithetical to the ideals of Ruskin and the early Pre-Raphaelites. Burne-Jones's aim in art is best given in his own words, written to a friend:
I mean by a picture a beautiful, romantic dream of something that never was, never will be – in a light better than any light that ever shone – in a land no one can define or remember, only desire – and the forms divinely beautiful – and then I wake up, with the waking of Brynhild. No artist was ever more true to his aim. Ideals resolutely pursued are apt to provoke the resentment of the world, and Burne-Jones encountered, endured and conquered an extraordinary amount of angry criticism. Insofar as this was directed against the lack of realism in his pictures, it was beside the point. The earth, the sky, the rocks, the trees, the men and women of Burne-Jones are not those of this world; but they are themselves a world, consistent with itself, and having therefore its own reality. Charged with the beauty and with the strangeness of dreams, it has nothing of a dream's incoherence. Yet it is a dreamer always whose nature penetrates these works, a nature out of sympathy with struggle and strenuous action. Burne-Jones's men and women are dreamers too. It was this which, more than anything else, estranged him from the age into which he was born. But he had an inbred "revolt from fact" which would have estranged him from the actualities of any age. That criticism seems to be more justified which has found in him a lack of such victorious energy and mastery over his materials as would have enabled him to carry out his conceptions in their original intensity. Yet Burne-Jones was singularly strenuous in production. His industry was inexhaustible, and needed to be, if it was to keep pace with the constant pressure of his ideas. Whatever faults his paintings may have, they have always the fundamental virtue of design; they are always pictures. His designs were informed with a mind of romantic temper, apt in the discovery of beautiful subjects, and impassioned with a delight in pure and variegated colour.


Final years

Burne-Jones was elected an Associate of the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in 1885, and the following year he exhibited uniquely at the Academy, showing ''The Depths of the Sea,'' a painting of a mermaid carrying down with her a youth whom she has unconsciously drowned in the impetuosity of her love. This picture adds to the habitual haunting charm a tragic irony of conception and a felicity of execution which give it a place apart among Burne-Jones's works. He formally resigned his Associateship in 1893. One of the ''Perseus'' series was exhibited in 1887 and two more in 1888, with ''The Brazen Tower,'' inspired by the same legend. In 1890 the second series of '' The Legend of Briar Rose'' were exhibited by themselves and won admiration. The huge watercolour, ''
The Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask hi ...
,'' painted for the corporation of Birmingham, was exhibited in 1891. A long illness for a time checked the painter's activity, which, when resumed, was much occupied with decorative schemes. An exhibition of his work was held at the New Gallery in the winter of 1892–1893. To this period belong his comparatively few portraits. In 1894, Burne-Jones was made a baronet. Ill-health again interrupted the progress of his works, chief among which was the vast '' Arthur in Avalon''. In the winter following his death, a second exhibition of his works was held at the New Gallery, and an exhibition of his drawings (including some of the charmingly humorous sketches made for children) at the
Burlington Fine Arts Club The Burlington Fine Arts Club (established 1866; dissolved 1952) was a London gentlemen's club based at 17 Savile Row. The club had its roots in the informal Fine Arts Club, a gathering of amateur art enthusiasts, founded by John Charles Robi ...
.


Honours

In 1881 Burne-Jones received an honorary degree from Oxford, and was made an Honorary Fellow in 1882. In 1885 he became the President of the
Birmingham Society of Artists The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square. It is both a re ...
. At about that time he began hyphenating his name, merely—as he wrote later—to avoid "annihilation" in the mass of Joneses. In November 1893, he was approached to see if he would accept a Baronetcy on the recommendation of the outgoing Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, the following February he legally changed his name to Burne-Jones He was formally created a baronet of Rottingdean, in the county of Sussex, and of the Grange, in the parish of Fulham, in the county of London in the
baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) James I of E ...
on 3 May 1894, but remained unhappy about accepting the honour, which disgusted his socialist friend Morris and was scorned by his equally socialist wife Georgiana. Only his son Philip, who mixed with the set of the Prince of Wales and would inherit the title, truly wanted it. Morris died in 1896, and the health of the devastated Burne-Jones declined substantially. In 1898 he suffered an attack of
influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
, and had apparently recovered when he was again taken suddenly ill, and died on 17 June 1898. Six days later, at the intervention of the Prince of Wales, a memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey. It was the first time an artist had been so honoured. Burne-Jones' ashes were buried in the churchyard at
St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean St Margaret's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Rottingdean, in the city of Brighton and Hove, England. It is the parish church of Rottingdean, which became part of the former Borough of Brighton in 1928. Parts of the structure date ...
, a place he knew through summer family holidays. Elected member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium in 1897.


Influence

Burne-Jones exerted a considerable influence on French painting. He was influential among French
symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...
painters, from 1889. His work inspired poetry by
Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
 – Swinburne's 1866 ''Poems & Ballads'' is dedicated to Burne-Jones. Three of Burne-Jones's studio assistants,
John Melhuish Strudwick John Melhuish Strudwick (6 May 1849 in Clapham, London – 16 July 1937 in Hammersmith), was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter. Early life Strudwick was the son of William Strudwick (1808–1861) and Sarah Melhuish (1800–1862). He attended ...
, T. M. Rooke and Charles Fairfax Murray, went on to successful painting careers. Murray later became an important collector and respected art dealer. Between 1903 and 1907 he sold a great many works by Burne-Jones and the
Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, at far below their market worth. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery now has the largest collection of works by Burne-Jones in the world, including the massive watercolour ''Star of Bethlehem'', commissioned for the Gallery in 1897. The paintings are believed by some to have influenced the young J. R. R. Tolkien, then growing up in Birmingham. Burne-Jones was also a very strong influence on the Birmingham Group of artists, from the 1890s onwards.


Neglect and rediscovery

On 16 June 1933, Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
, a nephew of Burne-Jones, officially opened the centenary exhibition featuring Burne-Jones's drawings and paintings at the Tate Gallery in London. In his opening speech at the exhibition, Baldwin expressed what the art of Burne-Jones stood for: But, in fact, long before 1933, Burne-Jones had fallen out of fashion in the art world, much of which soon preferred the major trends in
Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
, and the exhibit marking the 100th anniversary of his birth was a sad affair, poorly attended. It was not until the mid-1970s that his work began to be re-assessed and once again acclaimed, following the publication of Martin Harrison and Bill Waters' 1973 monograph and reappraisal 'Burne-Jones'. In 1975, author Penelope Fitzgerald published a biography of Burne-Jones, her first book. A major exhibit in 1989 at the Barbican Art Gallery, London (in book form as: John Christian, ''The Last Romantics'', 1989), traced Burne-Jones's influence on the subsequent generation of artists, and another at Tate Britain in 1997 explored the links between British Aestheticism and Symbolism. A second, lavish centenary exhibit – this time marking the 100th anniversary of Burne-Jones's death – was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1998, before travelling to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and the
Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...
, Paris. Fiona MacCarthy, in a review of Burne-Jones's legacy, notes that he was "a painter who, while quintessentially Victorian, leads us forward to the psychological and sexual introspection of the early twentieth century".Tate: "A Visionary Oddity: Fiona MacCarthy on Edward Burne-Jones"
/ref>


Gallery


Stained and painted glass

File:Edward Burne-Jones Daniel 1873.jpg, Cartoon for ''Daniel'' window,
St. Martin's-on-the-Hill ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
, Scarborough, 1873 File:Boston Trinity Church 04.jpg, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris' Nativity windows (1882), Trinity Church, Boston File:USA Massachusetts Boston Trinity Nativity-window.jpg, ''The Worship of the Magi'' window (1882), Trinity Church, Boston. File:USA Massachusetts Boston Trinity-Nativity-detail-2.jpg, ''The Worship of the Shepherds'' window (1882), Trinity Church, Boston File:Burnejoneswindow.jpg, Nativity scene in St Mary's Church, Huish Episcopi, Somerset File:David Burne-Jones.jpg, ''David'' 1872, in St Michael and All Angels, Waterford, Hertfordshire File:Miriam Burne-Jones.jpg, ''Miriam'', 1872 in St Michael and All Angels, Waterford, Hertfordshire File:E.Burne-Jones Justice St.Andrew&St.Paul.jpg, ''Justice'',
Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul The Church of Saint Andrew and St Paul is a Presbyterian Church in Canada, Presbyterian church (building), church in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 3415 Redpath Street, on the corner of Sherbrooke Street (Quebec Route 138, Ro ...
, Montreal File:E.Burne-Jones Miriam St.Giles.jpg, ''Miriam'', 1886 in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh File:Salvator Mundi Burne-Jones.jpg, ''Christ as Salvator Mundi'', 1896 in St Michael and All Angels, Waterford, Hertfordshire File:St Cecilia narthex.jpg, St. Cecilia window,
Second Presbyterian Church (Chicago, Illinois) Second Presbyterian Church is a landmark Gothic Revival church located on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some of Chicago's most prominent families attended thi ...
File:Staveley crucifixion.jpg, Crucifixion window in St James's Church, Staveley, Cumbria File:Staveley angel playing harp.JPG, Angel window in St. James's Church, Staveley, Cumbria File:Old West Kirk EBJ Faith.jpg, ''Faith'' in the
Old West Kirk, Greenock Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...
File:Old West Kirk EBJ Music.jpg, ''Music'' in the Old West Kirk, Greenock File:Bellringers 003.jpg, St Agnes of Rome and Catherine of Alexandria,
St Paul, Irton St Paul, Irton is an active parish church in the civil parish of Irton with Santon, Cumbria, England. It is in the Calder Deanery of the Anglican diocese of Carlisle and is part of the Benefice#Church of England, benefice of Black Combe, Drigg, ...
.


Drawings

File:Edward Burne-Jones The Knights Farewell.jpg, ''The Knight's Farewell'', pen-and-ink on vellum, 1858 File:Edward Burne-Jones Going to the Battle 1858.jpg, ''Going to the Battle'', pen-and-ink with gray wash on vellum, 1858 File:Dalziel Brothers after Edward Burne-Jones King Sigurd 1862.png, ''King Sigurd'', wood-engraving by the Dalziel Bros. after a pen-and-ink drawing, 1862 File:Burne-Jones Ignacy Jan Paderewski.jpg, ''Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski'', 1892


Paintings

Early works File:Burne ,Princess Sabra Led to the Dragon.jpg, ''The Princess Sabra Led to the Dragon,'' 1866 File:Edward Burne-Jones Maria Zambaco 1870.jpg, ''Portrait of
Maria Zambaco Maria Zambaco (29 April 1843, London – 14 July 1914, Paris), born Marie Terpsithea Cassavetti ( el, Μαρία Τερψιθέα Κασσαβέτη, sometimes spelled Maria Tepsithia Kassavetti or referred to as Mary), was a British artist and m ...
'', 1870 File:Edward Burne-Jones Phyllis and Demophoon 1870.jpg, ''Phyllis and Demophoön'', 1870 File:Edward Burne-Jones Temperantia 1872.jpg, ''Temperantia'', 1872
''Pygmalion'' ''(first series)'' File:The Heart Desires, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Heart Desires'', 1868–70 File:The Hand Refrains, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones)i.jpg, '' The Hand Refrains'', 1868–1870 File:The Godhead Fires, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Godhead Fires'', 1868–70 File:The Soul Attains, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Soul Attains'', 1868–70 '' Pygmalion and the Image'' ''(second series)'' File:The Heart Desires, 2nd series, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Heart Desires'', 1878 File:The Hand Refrains, 2nd series, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Hand Refrains'', 1878 File:The Godhead Fires, 2nd series, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Godhead Fires'', 1878 File:The Soul Attains, 2nd series, Pygmalion (Burne-Jones).jpg, '' The Soul Attains'', 1878 The Grosvenor Gallery years File:Edward Burne-Jones Pan and Psyche.jpg, ''Pan and Psyche'', 1874 File:Edward Burne-Jones The Annunciation.jpg, ''The Annunciation'', 1879 File:Burnejones3.jpg, ''The Angel'', 1881 File:The Mill by Edward Burne-Jones.jpg, ''The Mill'', 1882 File:Edward Burne-Jones - An Angel Playing a Flageolet.jpg, ''An Angel Playing a Flageolet'' - Sudley House, Liverpool, England ''The Legend of Briar Rose'' ''(second series)'' File:Briar Wood Buscot Park.jpg, ''The Briar Wood'', completed 1890 File:The Council Chamber Buscot Park.jpg, ''The Council Chamber'', 1890 File:The Garden Court Buscot Park.jpg, ''The Garden Court'', 1890 File:The Rose Bower Buscot Park.jpg, ''The Rose Bower'', 1890 Later works File:Edward Burne-Jones - Perseus.jpeg, ''The Doom Fulfilled'', 1888 (Perseus Cycle 7) File:If looks could kill.jpg, ''The Baleful Head'', 1887 (Perseus Cycle 8) File:Edward Burne-Jones Star of Bethlehem.jpg, ''
The Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask hi ...
'', 1890 File:Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones - Vespertina Quies - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Vespertina Quies'', 1893 File:Burne-jones-love-among-the-ruins.jpg, ''
Love Among the Ruins Love Among the Ruins may refer to: Literature * "Love Among the Ruins" (poem), a poem by Robert Browning * '' Love Among the Ruins. A Romance of the Near Future'', a novel by Evelyn Waugh * ''Love Among the Ruins'', a novel by Warwick Deeping * '' ...
'', 1894 recreation in oils File:Burne-Jones Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon v2.jpg, '' The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon'' 1881–1898


Decorative arts

File:Rubaiyat Morris Burne-Jones Manuscript.jpg, Illuminated manuscript of the '' Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'' by William Morris, illustrated by Burne-Jones with a variant of ''
Love Among the Ruins Love Among the Ruins may refer to: Literature * "Love Among the Ruins" (poem), a poem by Robert Browning * '' Love Among the Ruins. A Romance of the Near Future'', a novel by Evelyn Waugh * ''Love Among the Ruins'', a novel by Warwick Deeping * '' ...
'', 1870s File:Holy Grail Tapestry -The Arming and Departure of the Kniights.jpg, ''The Arming and Departure of the Knights'', one of the Holy Grail tapestries, 1890s, figures by Burne-Jones. File:Kelmscott Troilus.jpg, A page from the Kelmscott ''Chaucer'', decoration by Morris and illustration by Burne-Jones, 1896


Theatre

File:Carrcraven7.jpg, Scene from ''King Arthur'', sets by Burne-Jones, 1895 File:Ellen Terry as Guinevere costume by Burne-Jones.jpg, Ellen Terry as Guinevere, costume by Burne-Jones, 1894


Photographs

File:Frederick Hollyer Morris and Burne-Jones Families 1874.jpg, The Burne-Jones and Morris families in the garden at the Grange, 1874, photograph by Frederick Hollyer File:Frederick Hollyer portrait of Edward Burne-Jones c1882.jpg, Edward Burne-Jones, c. 1882 (Hollyer) File:Frederick Hollyer portrait of Georgiana Burne-Jones c1882.jpg, Georgiana Burne-Jones, c. 1882 (Hollyer) File:Frederick Hollyer Garden Studio at the Grange 1887.jpg, Burne-Jones's garden studio at the Grange, 1887 (Hollyer)


See also

* List of paintings by Edward Burne-Jones * ''The Flower Book''
Stained Glass Designs for the Vinland House, 1881


References

;Notes ;Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* *Arscott, Caroline. ''William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones: Interlacings,'' (New Haven and London: Yale University Press (Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art), 2008). .
Volume I
an
Volume II
(1911 reprint) * * Marsh, Jan, ''Jane and May Morris: A Biographical Story 1839–1938'', London, Pandora Press, 1986 . * Marsh, Jan, ''Jane and May Morris: A Biographical Story 1839–1938'' (updated edition, privately published by author), London, 2000. * * * *


External links


Online Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné
* *

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060328043558/http://www.artmagick.com/exhibitions/exhibition.aspx?id=360 The Age of Rossetti, Burne-Jones and Watts: Symbolism in Britain 1860–1910Online version of exhibit at the Tate Britain 16 October 19974 January 1998, with 100 works by Burne-Jones, at Art Magick
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery's Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource
Large online collection of the works of Edward Burne Jones
Lady Lever Art Gallery

Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon'' (1881)
in th
Museo de Arte de Ponce Pre-Raphaelite online resource project website
at the
Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, ...
, with about a thousand paintings on canvas and works on paper by Edward Burne-Jones
Burne-Jones Stained Glass Windows in Cumbria

The Pre-Raphaelite Church – Brampton




* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070624142247/http://www.church.speldhurst.org/glass%201.asp Speldhurst Church
Phryne's list of pictures in public galleries in the UK
at the University of Missouri Libraries. Personal papers of a Burne-Jones scholar. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burne-Jones, Edward 1833 births 1898 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters British stained glass artists and manufacturers Pre-Raphaelite painters Christian artists Artists from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Fulham Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Associates of the Royal Academy Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Artists' Rifles soldiers Morris & Co. Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art Burne-Jones family Mosaicists