Editing Edward Burne-Jones (section)

==Artistic career==

===Early years: Rossetti and Morris===
[[Image:Edward Burne-Jones Sidonia von Bork.jpg|right|thumb|''[[Sidonia von Borcke]]'', 1860]]
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.<ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Burne-Jones, Sir Edward Burne|volume=4|pages=848–850|noicon=1}}</ref>

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]]'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.<ref name="EB1911" />

In the autumn of 1857 Burne-Jones joined Morris, [[Valentine Prinsep]], [[John Roddam Spencer Stanhope|J.&nbsp;R. Spencer Stanhope]]{{sfn|Marsh|1996|p= 110}} and others in Rossetti's ill-fated scheme to [[Oxford Union murals|decorate]] the walls of the [[Oxford Union]]. None of the painters had mastered the technique of [[fresco]], 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]], [[Siena]], [[Venice]] and other places, and appears to have found the gentle and romantic [[Sienese School|Sienese]] more attractive than any other school. Rossetti's influence persisted and is visible, more strongly perhaps than ever before, in the two [[Watercolor painting|watercolours]] of 1860, ''Sidonia von Bork'' and ''Clara von Bork.''<ref name="EB1911" /> Both paintings illustrate the 1849 [[gothic novel]] ''Sidonia the Sorceress'' by [[Jane Wilde|Lady Wilde]], a translation of ''Sidonia Von Bork: Die Klosterhexe'' (1847) by Johann Wilhelm Meinhold.{{sfn|Wildman|1998|p= 66}}

===Painting===
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[[Image:Beguiling of Merlin.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Beguiling of Merlin]]'', 1874]]
In 1864, Burne-Jones was elected an associate of the [[Royal Watercolour Society|Society of Painters in Water-Colours]]—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.<ref name="EB1911" />

In 1866, Mrs. Cassavetti commissioned Burne-Jones to paint her daughter, [[Maria Zambaco]], 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 era|Victorian]] 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".{{sfn|Roget|1891|p=116}}{{sfn|Wildman|1998|p=138}} 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 at the [[Egyptian Hall|Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly]] in 1873, one of them being the beautiful ''[[Love Among the Ruins (Burne-Jones)|Love Among the Ruins]]'', 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 one of unremitting production.{{cn|date=August 2022}} 

Hitherto, Burne-Jones had worked almost entirely in watercolours. 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.<ref name="EB1911" /> 

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.{{sfn|Wildman|1998|pp= 197–198}}

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.{{cn|date=August 2022}} 

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.{{cn|date=August 2022}} 

The almost sombre ''[[The Wheel of Fortune (Burne-Jones)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' was shown in 1883, followed in 1884 by ''[[King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid (painting)|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.<ref name="EB1911" />

===Decorative arts===
[[File:Burne-Jones, Sir Edward, Saint Cecilia, ca. 1900.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Saint Cecilia]]'', {{c.}} 1900, [[Princeton University Art Museum]], one of nearly thirty versions of a window designed by Burne-Jones and executed by Morris & Co.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saint Cecilia (y1974–84) |url=http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/32015 |website=Princeton University Art Museum |publisher=Princeton University}}</ref>]]

{{Main|Morris & Co.}}
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 Joseph Faulkner|Charles Faulkner]] and [[Peter Paul Marshall]], the former of whom was a member of the Oxford Brotherhood, and the latter a friend of Brown and Rossetti.<ref name="DNB" /> The prospectus set forth that the firm would undertake carving, [[stained glass]], metal-work, paper-hangings, [[chintz]]es (printed fabrics), and [[carpet]]s.<ref name="EB1911" /> 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]] 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]] and the "green dining room" at the South Kensington Museum (now the [[Victoria and Albert Museum|Victoria and Albert]]) of 1867 which featured stained glass windows and panel figures by Burne-Jones.{{sfn|Parry|1996|loc=Domestic Decoration|pp=139–140}}

In 1871 Morris & Co. were responsible for the windows at [[All Saints Church, Wilden|All Saints]], designed by Burne-Jones for [[Alfred Baldwin (politician)|Alfred Baldwin]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Burne-Jones Windows – Holy Trinity Frome |url=http://www.holytrinityfrome.info/?page_id=39066 |access-date=2019-06-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> 
Stained glass windows in the [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]] cathedral and other buildings in [[Oxford]] are by Morris & Co. with designs by Burne-Jones.<ref name="CCglass">[http://www.southgategreen.org.uk/christchurch/burnejones.php. Edward Burne-Jones] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060724003620/http://southgategreen.org.uk/christchurch/burnejones.php | date=24 July 2006}} 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."</ref><ref name="UTex">[http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E320M/PRB.html PreRaphaelite Painting and Design] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014005304/http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E320M/PRB.html |date=14 October 2008 }} University of Texas</ref> 
Other windows are in [[St. Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham]], [[Church of St Editha, Tamworth]], [[Salisbury Cathedral]], [[St Martin in the Bull Ring]], Birmingham, [[Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, Chelsea]], St Peter and St Paul parish church in [[Cromer]], [[St Martin's Church, Brampton|St Martin's Church]] in [[Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria|Brampton]], [[Cumbria]] (the church designed by [[Philip Webb]]), [[St Michael's Church, Brighton]], [[Church of the Holy Trinity, Frome|Trinity Church]] in [[Frome]], [[All Saints, Jesus Lane]], [[Cambridge]], [[St Edmund Hall]], [[St Anne's Church, Brown Edge]], Staffordshire Moorlands, [[Kelvinside Hillhead Parish Church, Glasgow]] 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.{{sfn|Parry|1996|loc=Domestic Decoration|pp=146–147}}

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:{{sfn|Souter|Souter|2012|p=19}}

* ''The Fairy Family'' by [[Archibald MacLaren]] (1857)
* ''[[The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam]]'' by William Morris (1872)
* ''[[The Earthly Paradise]]'' by William Morris (not completed)
* ''The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer'' by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (1896)
* ''Bible Gallery'' by [[Brothers Dalziel|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, London|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]], and toured America following its London run.{{sfn|Wildman|1998|p= 315}}{{sfn|Wood|1999| p= 119}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 November 1895 |title=Miss Terry as Guinevere; In a Play by Comyns Carr, Dressed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802E7DF1E3DE433A25756C0A9679D94649ED7CF |access-date=8 August 2008}}</ref> 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."{{sfn|Wood|1999| p= 120}}

===Aesthetics===
[[Image:Edward Burne-Jones The Golden Stairs.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Golden Stairs]]'', 1880]]
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.{{sfn|Wildman|1998|pp= 112–113}} Burne-Jones's aim in art is best given in his own words, written to a friend:
<blockquote>
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.<ref name="EB1911" /></blockquote>

===Final years===
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Burne-Jones was elected an Associate of the [[Royal Academy]] 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, ''[[Star of Bethlehem (painting)|The Star of Bethlehem]],'' 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 (London)|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 ''[[The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon|Arthur in Avalon]]''. William Morris died in 1896, and the health of Burne-Jones declined substantially after. In 1898 he suffered an attack of [[influenza]], and had apparently recovered when he was again taken suddenly ill and died on 17 June 1898.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26988|page=4396|date=19 July 1898}}</ref> His memorial service was held six days later, at [[Westminster Abbey]]. His ashes were interred in the churchyard at [[St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean]],{{sfn | Dale | 1989 | p=212}} a place he knew through summer family holidays. In the winter following his death, a second exhibition of his works was held at the New Gallery, and an exhibition of his drawings at the [[Burlington Fine Arts Club]].<ref name="EB1911" />