Edward Burne-Jones

Edward Burne-Jones

Edward Burne-Jones, born Edward Burn Jones, was a Welsh-English Pre-Raphaelite painter and decorative artist who was part of the Aesthetic art movement who lived from 1833 to 1898. He was born in Birmingham, England. His mother died days after he was born so he was raised by his father.

After attending four years of art school at the Birmingham School of Art, Burne-Jones went to the Exeter College at Oxford for theology. It was there that he befriended fellow artist, William Morris with whom he would form “The Brotherhood”; a group of friends who adored everything from the Middle Ages forming the second wave of Pre-Raphaelite artists. Together, and under the mentorship of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the two decided to pursue art as a career.

Edward Burne-Jones married Georgiana MacDonald in 1856. The two had three children, though one died soon after birth. The beginning of Burne-Jones’s career is marked by incessant practice with pen and ink, as he felt he had started his career ten years too late at 25 years old. He soon moved on to oils, watercolors, and illustrations for the more decorative arts. In 1861, Burne-Jones helped found the decorative arts business, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, & Co. which focused on stained glass, carvings, carpets, tapestries, and metal pieces.

In the late 1860s to early 1870s, Burne-Jones withdrew from society after his affair with his model, Maria Zambaco, was found out. Maria attempted suicide but failed. Burne-Jones’s wife became close with William Morris whose own wife was having an affair with the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Despite the internal affairs, the brotherhood remained strong.

Edward Burne-Jones art style, in addition with other Pre-Raphaelite artists, was part of the Aesthetic art movement. This movement sought to create beautiful pieces, “art for art’s sake”, and focused on the visual aspects rather than the realism or morality of the works. Towards the end of his life, he legally changed his given name of Burne Jones to Burne-Jones, to separate him from all the other Jones’s. In 1894, he was given a baronetcy and “Sir” was added to his name.

In 1898, Edward Burne-Jones died from influenza at the age of 64. After the advent of modern art, his work fell out of popularity. It wasn’t until the 1970s that Burne-Jones’s work became fashionable again and was heralded as quite sexually progressive for the Victorian era.

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