THE
P RTAL
January 2019
Page 12
Burne-Jones at Tate Britain
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane visited the exhibition
T hose familiar
with the English Parish Church may also be familiar with the work of Edward
Burne-Jones. For those of our readers who fall into one of these two categories, there is a wonderful
exhibition of his work at the Tate Britain in London. (See their web site for details www.tate.org.uk telephone
020 7887 8888).
However, let us begin at the beginning. Edward
Burne-Jones (1833–1898) was, according to the Tate
Britain web site: “…one of the key figures in Victorian
art, achieving world-wide fame and recognition
during his lifetime. As the last major figure associated
with the Pre-Raphaelites, he led the movement into
symbolist directions where the expression of a mood
or idea replaced the earlier focus on providing a
realistic description of the natural world. Using myths
and legends from the past, he created dream-worlds of
unparalleled beauty, balancing clarity of observation
with dramatically original composition.
Initially inspired by the church and by all things
medieval, Burne-Jones remained committed to the
ideal of beauty throughout his career. For him it
represented the antidote to the crude ugliness and
rampant materialism he believed was degrading
modern Britain. From his studio in Fulham, he designed
and made artworks in a variety of media: paintings,
drawings, stained glass, embroidery, tapestry, furniture
and jewellery. Many of the most splendid examples of
these works feature in this exhibition, the first major
retrospective to be held in London for over forty years.
Burne-Jones’s art was intended to uplift and inspire the
spectator through its mystery and intricacy of design
and execution. It also discloses something of the inner
melancholy that lay at the heart of the artist’s vision.”
The Adoration of the Magi - reproduced by permission
and ecclesiastical use. This decorative work informed
the bold outlines and patches of colour of his early
experimental watercolours. In 1864 he was elected
to the prestigious but conservative Old Watercolour
Society and began exhibiting with them. Burne-Jones
established a reputation as one of the most original
and daring artists of his day. His work still inspires
and excites today. There are not a few English Parish
Churches beautified by his stained glass.
He set about rejuvenating the tradition of stained
glass art in Britain. His stained glass include windows
in St Philip’s Cathedral, and 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 in Brampton, Cumbria;
St Michael’s Church, Brighton; All Saints, Jesus Lane,
Cambridge; St Edmund Hall and Christ Church
colleges Oxford. His stained glass works also feature
in St Anne’s Church, Brown Edge, Staffordshire
Moorlands, and St Edward the Confessor church at
Cheddleton, Staffordshire.
Burne-Jones came from Birmingham, and although
initially a student of theology, he, together with his
friend and colleague, William Morris, developed a
love for medieval romance and architecture. In 1856,
Burne-Jones decided to abandon his studies and
direct his religious enthusiasm towards art. He was
fortunate in having the guidance of the artist-poet
On 3 rd May 1894, on the recommendation of
Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Burne-Jones began to make
intricate drawings in pen and ink which won him the Prime Minister Gladstone, he was made a baronet
support of artists and patrons in the Pre-Raphaelite of Rottingdean, in the county of Sussex, and of the
Grange, in the parish of Fulham, in the county of
circle.
London; so it is Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt.
Burne-Jones’s move into colour was encouraged
The exhibition covers seven rooms. These are well
by his early work in stained glass. He was a founder
member of the design collective Morris & Co. in 1861. laid out, there being plenty of room to view the
He designed furniture and stained glass for domestic exhibits. Seats are provided for extended viewing. Ø