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Aurora by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones
- This exceptional Pre-Raphaelite painting was created by Burne-Jones in the last decade of his career
- The composition unites classical myth and Renaissance architecture in a dreamlike atmosphere
- Modeled by Bessie Keene, Aurora emerges as an elegant vision of the Roman goddess of dawn
- View the Dossier
- Get complete item description here
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Item No.
32-3237
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Description
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones
1833–1898 | British
Aurora
Oil on canvas
Aurora by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones is an exceptional large-scale oil from circa 1896, the final decade of the artist’s career, and one of fewer than twenty major canvases by Burne-Jones believed to remain in private hands. Monumental in scale and poetic in subject, the painting embodies the dreamlike beauty, classical refinement and rarefied atmosphere that made Burne-Jones one of the. . .
1833–1898 | British
Aurora
Oil on canvas
Aurora by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones is an exceptional large-scale oil from circa 1896, the final decade of the artist’s career, and one of fewer than twenty major canvases by Burne-Jones believed to remain in private hands. Monumental in scale and poetic in subject, the painting embodies the dreamlike beauty, classical refinement and rarefied atmosphere that made Burne-Jones one of the. . .
Read More
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones
1833–1898 | British
Aurora
Oil on canvas
Aurora by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones is an exceptional large-scale oil from circa 1896, the final decade of the artist’s career, and one of fewer than twenty major canvases by Burne-Jones believed to remain in private hands. Monumental in scale and poetic in subject, the painting embodies the dreamlike beauty, classical refinement and rarefied atmosphere that made Burne-Jones one of the defining painters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
The composition depicts Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, moving lightly through a narrow, imagined cityscape. Modeled by Bessie Keene, the youthful goddess is draped in softly flowing robes as she steps along a timbered quay between tall buildings that lean inward over a still canal. In her hands, she holds small cymbal-like discs, evoking the instruments of classical dancers and priestesses and transforming the figure into an elegant herald of daybreak. The setting, inspired in part by Burne-Jones’ memories of Oxford, becomes a world of poetic invention where Renaissance architecture, antique myth and Victorian imagination converge.
Burne-Jones was among the most influential British artists of the late 19th century. Closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite circle and the Aesthetic Movement, he developed a highly distinctive visual language of elongated figures, graceful rhythms and ethereal beauty. His travels to Italy between 1859 and 1873 deepened his admiration for artists such as Botticelli, whose work left a lasting impression on his mature style. By the 1890s, Burne-Jones had achieved international recognition and held elite artistic distinctions, including Associate of the Royal Academy and membership in the Royal Watercolour Society.
Burne-Jones’s most important paintings and related works are held in major museum collections around the world, including the Musée d’Orsay, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art. His large-scale oils are especially coveted, as many of the defining works of his mature career entered museum collections long ago.
At once mythological, musical and atmospheric, Aurora distills the qualities most prized in Burne-Jones’ mature work: idealized beauty, poetic stillness and a vision of antiquity transformed through the imagination of the modern era.
Circa 1896
Canvas: 70 1/2″ high x 30″ wide (179.1 x 76.2 cm)
Framed: 88″ high x 46″ wide (223.5 x 116.8 cm)
View the Dossier
Literature:
“Edward Burne-Jones.” Strand Magazine 10 (1895): 25, 26.
Burne-Jones, Georgiana. Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones. 2 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., 1904, vol. I, 304; vol. II, 258, 277, 282–283.
Cortissoz, Royal. “Edward Burne-Jones.” Munsey’s Magazine, February 1907, 580, 581.
Bibby, John Hartley Grundy. Bibby’s Annual. 1917, 2.
Harrison, Martin, and Bill Waters. Burne-Jones. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1973, 160.
Fitzgerald, Penelope. Edward Burne-Jones: A Biography. London: Michael Joseph, 1975, 233, 260, 275.
Lago, Mary McClelland, ed. Burne-Jones Talking: His Conversations 1895–1898 Preserved by His Studio Assistant Thomas Rooke. London: John Murray, 1981, 43, 90, 93, 96, 98, 159, 164.
Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné. “Aurora.” The Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné. Online.
Provenance:
The artist’s widow, Georgiana, Lady Burne-Jones, until 1920
Margaret Mackail, her daughter, by bequest until 1953
Denis George Mackail, her son, by bequest
Clare Mackail, his sister, by gift, and thence by family descent.
Private Collection, London
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
1833–1898 | British
Aurora
Oil on canvas
Aurora by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones is an exceptional large-scale oil from circa 1896, the final decade of the artist’s career, and one of fewer than twenty major canvases by Burne-Jones believed to remain in private hands. Monumental in scale and poetic in subject, the painting embodies the dreamlike beauty, classical refinement and rarefied atmosphere that made Burne-Jones one of the defining painters of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
The composition depicts Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, moving lightly through a narrow, imagined cityscape. Modeled by Bessie Keene, the youthful goddess is draped in softly flowing robes as she steps along a timbered quay between tall buildings that lean inward over a still canal. In her hands, she holds small cymbal-like discs, evoking the instruments of classical dancers and priestesses and transforming the figure into an elegant herald of daybreak. The setting, inspired in part by Burne-Jones’ memories of Oxford, becomes a world of poetic invention where Renaissance architecture, antique myth and Victorian imagination converge.
Burne-Jones was among the most influential British artists of the late 19th century. Closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite circle and the Aesthetic Movement, he developed a highly distinctive visual language of elongated figures, graceful rhythms and ethereal beauty. His travels to Italy between 1859 and 1873 deepened his admiration for artists such as Botticelli, whose work left a lasting impression on his mature style. By the 1890s, Burne-Jones had achieved international recognition and held elite artistic distinctions, including Associate of the Royal Academy and membership in the Royal Watercolour Society.
Burne-Jones’s most important paintings and related works are held in major museum collections around the world, including the Musée d’Orsay, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art. His large-scale oils are especially coveted, as many of the defining works of his mature career entered museum collections long ago.
At once mythological, musical and atmospheric, Aurora distills the qualities most prized in Burne-Jones’ mature work: idealized beauty, poetic stillness and a vision of antiquity transformed through the imagination of the modern era.
Circa 1896
Canvas: 70 1/2″ high x 30″ wide (179.1 x 76.2 cm)
Framed: 88″ high x 46″ wide (223.5 x 116.8 cm)
View the Dossier
Literature:
“Edward Burne-Jones.” Strand Magazine 10 (1895): 25, 26.
Burne-Jones, Georgiana. Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones. 2 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., 1904, vol. I, 304; vol. II, 258, 277, 282–283.
Cortissoz, Royal. “Edward Burne-Jones.” Munsey’s Magazine, February 1907, 580, 581.
Bibby, John Hartley Grundy. Bibby’s Annual. 1917, 2.
Harrison, Martin, and Bill Waters. Burne-Jones. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1973, 160.
Fitzgerald, Penelope. Edward Burne-Jones: A Biography. London: Michael Joseph, 1975, 233, 260, 275.
Lago, Mary McClelland, ed. Burne-Jones Talking: His Conversations 1895–1898 Preserved by His Studio Assistant Thomas Rooke. London: John Murray, 1981, 43, 90, 93, 96, 98, 159, 164.
Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné. “Aurora.” The Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné. Online.
Provenance:
The artist’s widow, Georgiana, Lady Burne-Jones, until 1920
Margaret Mackail, her daughter, by bequest until 1953
Denis George Mackail, her son, by bequest
Clare Mackail, his sister, by gift, and thence by family descent.
Private Collection, London
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Read Less
Specifications
| Maker: | Burne-Jones, Sir Edward Coley |
| Period: | 1816-1918 |
| Origin: | England |
| Type: | Paintings |
| Style: | Pre-Raphaelite |
| Depth: | 5.38 in. (13.65 cm) |
| Width: | 46.25 in. (117.48 cm) |
| Height: | 88.0 in. (223.52 cm) |
| Canvas Width: | 23.500 in. (59.69 cm) |
| Canvas Height: | 69.750 in. (177.17 cm) |
Buy With Confidence
For over a century, we've placed important art, rare jewels and exceptional objects with more than 14,000 collectors worldwide, and have been recognized by trusted publications including Robb Report, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and more.
On Approval
Examine select works in person before you commit
125% Guarantee
Full credit plus 5% annual appreciation for five years
Trusted Expertise
Over two centuries of combined experience across our specialists
