Edward Burne-Jones' Mythical Paintings: The Pygmalion of the Pre-Raphaelite Painters
Language: English
Pages: 271
ISBN: 1433118769
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
This book focuses on Sir Edward Burne-Jones’ mythical paintings from 1868 to 1886. His artistic training and traveling experiences, his love for the Greek-sculptress, Maria Zambaco, and his aesthetic sensibility provided the background for these mythical paintings. This book analyzes two main concepts: Burne-Jones’ assimilation of Neoplatonic ideal beauty as depicted in his solo and narrative paintings, and Burne-Jones’ fusion of the classical and emblematic traditions in his imagery.
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that combines beauty and arouses love. He observes, “Only this is true, that beauty is very beautiful xxxii Introduction and softens, and comforts, and inspires, and rouses, and lifts up, and never fails.”23 Three aspects are analyzed here: 1) Burne-Jones’ awareness of Botticelli’s imagery; 2) his adaptation of Botticelli’s aesthetics; and 3) his integration of Botticelli’s visual assimilation and aesthetic integration of Neoplatonic ideals in his mythological paintings. Burne-Jones’
traditions of love fairy tales. Vaenius’ collection of love emblems relates the story of an amorous counterfeit enacted by a mischievous, playful, and winged putto, Cupid. As for the personification of love, Vaenius’ putto-type derives from Vincenzo Cartari’s images of Cupid in his mythographic compendium of Imagini delli Dei de Gl’Antichi (Venice 1549–57). The motto of Vaenius’ emblem, “No pleasure without pain,” and its epigram explain that Cupid is attempting to remove a beautiful rose from
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart. Photo credit: Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart/The Bridgeman Art Gallery Fig. 69. Edward Burne-Jones, The Rock of the Doom and The Doom Fulfilled, 1875–88 ................................................................................................................184 Art Gallery of South Adelaide, Australia Elder Bequest Fund 1902. Photo credit: The Bridgeman Art Gallery (ADL 362181) Fig. 70. Edward Burne-Jones, Study of Perseus, The Doom Fulfilled, 1875–88
Renaissance notion of woman depends on the ancient perception and definition of femina: “imperfectior mare” (“inferior male”).81 The notion of female inferiority continues its previous long history. Although Humanism and the Enlightenment did much to enhance the dignity of individual, these periods were long in liberating the “man feminine” from her subordinate status.82 During the Pre-Raphaelite movement, the notion of gender duality further transforms into a female duality or femme fatale, the
creation, a female statue. Through the blessings of Venus, his work is transformed into a real woman. Pygmalion is not certain if he is awake or dreaming when this transformation occurs. The mythical paintings, too, combine two aspects of the sister arts—painting and poetry (image and word). Introduction xxix Philostratus explains, and Franciscus Junius (1545–1602), librarian to Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel (1585–1646), later notes that the fundamental likeness between the two arts is that