Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Edward Burne-Jones - Study of a girl for 'The Troy Triptych'




pencil on paper
9¼ x 4½ in.

A study for one of the six nude children that Burne-Jones intended to place as free-standing bronze sculptures on the plinth below the main panels of the Troy Triptych. A sort of secular neo-Renaissance polyptych telling the story of Troy in narrative and allegorical form, the Triptych was conceived in 1870 in the artist's most Italianate style. It was never completed in its original form, although separate compositions were developed as independant easel pictures.

The figure reappears in three works in the Birmingham Art Gallery, two sketches for the entire Triptych and a watercolour study for two of the bronze children. For illustrations, see Christie's sale of Victorian and Traditionalist Pictures, 5 June 2008, cat. pp. 83-4, figs. 4-5, and Pre-Raphaelite Sculpture, exh. Matthiesen Gallery, London, and Birmingham Art Gallery, 2001-2, cat. p. 95, no. 4.


http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&pos=4&intObjectID=5318371&sid=afed4dcd-4c53-4e86-bcfb-af9b15d4ded5

2 comments:

ana said...

I like a lot of drawings and studies, and you has a remarkable collection of posts.
congratulations.

Hermes said...

Thank you, what a nice thing to say. I think these pencil studies and sketches are the closes we can get to these wonderful artists at work.