compiled by Jane Stroud
Myths, legends and the Bible fuelled the work of Edward Burne-Jones at a time when these subjects were unpopular with Victorian industrial society. Yet his unstinting pursuit of an enchanted parallel universe heralded the symbolist movement and earned him a reputation throughout the world – the only Pre-Raphaelite to achieve such acknowledgement. The autumn exhibition at Tate Britain brings together over 150 works in various media, including painting, stained glass and tapestry.
Born in Birmingham in 1833, Burne-Jones studied theology at Exeter College, Oxford, where he met his lifelong friend, William Morris, and from where he formed an intimate society made up of a small group of friends from Birmingham known as The Brotherhood. Leaving Oxford before taking his degree, Jones and Morris determined to pursue a career in art. Industrious and wellversed in the classics, the artist honed his draughtsmanship with numerous drawings and studies for ecclesiastical stained glass, linking painting and the decorative arts in a highly distinctive way. The exhibition includes major works from across all four decades of his career – from his early stained glass windows and altarpieces – to large-scale paintings. Two rooms are dedicated to the artist’s most famous narrative cycles, the story of Perseus and the fairytale, Sleeping Beauty, shown together for the first time. The exhibition will also explore the artist’s role in the decorative arts and design, featuring embroideries, illustrated books and large-scale tapestries. A programme of talks and events accompany the exhibition. Alison Smith, former curator at Tate Britain and current head of exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery, will introduce the themes of the exhibition at a Curator’s Talk on November 9, 6.30 to 8.30pm. Tickets £27/£22 concessions; and on December 3 and January 25 (6.30 to 8.30pm), assistant curator, Tim Batchelor, will lead an exclusive tour of the exhibition. Tickets £27/£22 concessions; www.tate.org.ukTransport yourself to the azure seas and rugged rocks of Cornwall, the bright light of a February landscape or afternoon tea in the garden (left).