Edward Burne-Jones

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Heliogravure after a painting by his son Philip Burne-Jones , 1898
Georgina Burne-Jones with her children Philip and Margaret

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet ARA (born August 28, 1833 in Birmingham , † June 17, 1898 in London ) was a British painter and one of the leading representatives of the Pre-Raphaelites . He worked closely with William Morris in the field of book decoration and textile design and stained glass .

Life

Edward Burne-Jones attended high school, where he made his first caricatures of his teachers. In addition, at the age of 15 he attended the state school for design three evenings a week. From 1853 he studied theology at Exeter College , Oxford , where he made friends with William Morris and saw for the first time a work by the Pre-Raphaelites , John Everett Millais 's The Return of the Dove to the Ark . He did not complete his studies because, under the influence of Morris, after visiting the Louvre together , he decided to become an artist.

Edward Burne-Jones (left) and William Morris, 1890

In 1856 he met John Ruskin and Dante Gabriel Rossetti . In the same year he got engaged to Georgiana MacDonald , a painter and wood cutter ; they married in 1860. In 1857 he made attempts at oil painting, occupied himself with glass painting and created his first significant drawings with pencil and ink. Initially his work was strongly influenced by Rossetti. But he benefited from George Frederic Watts , whom he met through Rossetti.

From 1860 there was a change to watercolors. The first results include the pictures Sidonia and Clara von Bork, inspired by the novel of the same name by the Pomeranian pastor and writer Johann Wilhelm Meinhold , which are exhibited today in the Tate Gallery , London .

Burne-Jones was a founding member of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company in 1861 and became the primary stained glass designer for that company. He produced over 500 individual figures for different topics.

In 1866 he met Maria Zambaco , whose mother commissioned him to paint a portrait of her daughter. Burne-Jones chose "Cupid finding Psyche" for it. They began an extramarital relationship and he often painted them in his studio. In January 1869, his wife Georgina found a letter from Maria in his clothes, and Burne-Jones reluctantly ended the affair. But he couldn't get Maria out of his mind. He painted her again and again, sometimes as a witch, sorceress or seductress, e.g. B. "The Beguiling of Merlin". As so often, Burne-Jones made strong sexual passion, love, betrayal, repentance and forgiveness visible in his pictures by dressing them in legends and myths. In doing so, he strengthens the expressiveness of the story.

In 1867, Burne-Jones and his wife moved to Fulham, London . Burne-Jones did not exhibit for many years. His breakthrough came in 1877 when several of his oil paintings were shown in the Grosvenor Gallery . Subsequently, his works were also shown at the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts .

For the Morris workshops in Merton Abbey , he designed tapestries with the cycle "The Search for the Holy Grail" from 1890–1895 and in 1891 he began with book illustrations for Morris Kelmscott Press . It took the two artists four years to produce “The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer”. Burne-Jones made 87 illustrations for William Hooper's wood engravings. Much of this work has been exhibited at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.

Through his wife, Burne-Jones was related to both the future Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and the writer Rudyard Kipling , both of whom were his nephews.

In 1885 he became president of the Birmingham Artists Association. In 1894 he was promoted to Baronet , of Rottingdean in the County of Sussex. Following the Paris World Exhibition in 1889, he was awarded the Cross of the Légion d'Honneur for his works.

He died of a weak heart on June 17, 1898. His ashes were buried in Rottingdean Church , Sussex, where he had a vacation home.

plant

In addition to painting, Burne-Jones dealt with handicrafts such as glass painting , ceramics , picture knitting and book decoration. His paintings and illustrations influenced French symbolism and Art Nouveau . Soon after his death, Burne-Jones' work fell into oblivion, as it contradicted the principles of classical modernism in its representational quality with its ornamental jewelry . It was not rediscovered until the 1970s. Today Burne-Jones is considered one of the most important British artists of the 19th century.

gallery

  • The prince enters the forest of thorns, 1869, from the Sleeping Beauty cycle

  • Maria Theresa Zambaco, 1870, Clemens-Sels-Museum Neuss

  • Stained glass window (detail) from Burne-Jones 'and Morris' Adoration of the Shepherds. Trinity Church, Boston, 1882

  • Love in Ruins, 1884

  • The Angel, 1881; Oil on the board; Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum

  • Wall hanging "The Adoration of the Magi". Design: Burne-Jones 1888. Execution: Morris & Company, Merton Abbey

Paintings (selection)

The Golden Staircase , 1880, Tate Gallery , London

literature

Web links

Commons : Edward Burne-Jones  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
Commons : Holy Grail tapestries  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edward Burne-Jones drawings at the Tate Gallery. In: tate.org.uk, accessed September 23, 2017.
  2. ↑ Burne-Jones' painting “The Beguiling of Merlin” in Lady Lever Art Gallery. In: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk, accessed September 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ The Beguiling of Merlin . - Image detail. In: liverpoolmuseums.org.uk; accessed on September 23, 2017.
  4. ^ Quest for the Holy Grail Tapestries in Birmingham Museums. In: preraphaelites.org; accessed on September 23, 2017.
predecessor Office successor
New title created Baronet, of Rottingdean
1894-1898 		Philip Burne-Jones
personal data
SURNAME Burne-Jones, Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Burne-Jones, Sir Edward Coley, 1st Baronet (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British painter and a representative of the Pre-Raphaelites
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1833
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmingham
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 1898
Place of death London