Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Sir Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) is one of my five or six favorite painters. As a young man he was friends with William Morris, with whom he produced wonderful stained glass and tapestries. Through Morris he met Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the leading spirit of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. It was Rossetti who convinced Burne-Jones to become a professional painter. So although Burne-Jones was not, strictly speaking, a Pre-Raphaelite, he followed their lead and is usually described as a Pre-Raphaelite painter. Above,  The Beguiling of Merlin, 1874.

Burne-Jones' development as an artist was interrupted in the 1870s by a series of personal crises. His first hostile notices from critics so shattered his confidence that he refused to exhibit a painting for a decade. Instead he embarked on a passionate affair with Greek model Maria Zambaco, which ended with her attempting suicide. Meanwhile his wife was hanging around with Morris, whose wife was having an affair with Rossetti. And so it goes. Burne-Jones supported himself in these years by illustrating books and designing stained glass for Morris & Co. Above, St. Cecilia from the Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois.

An Angel Playing a Flageolet, 1870s.

Burne-Jones returned to the art scene in 1877 with a major show that received much acclaim; the famous Beguiling of Merlin was part of this show. Election to the British Academy and a knighthood followed in time. Above, The Mirror of Venus, 1875.

The Golden Stairs, 1880.

The Garden Court from the Briar Rose series, 1885-1890.

The Rock of Doom (detail) from the Perseus series, ca. 1880.