{"product_id":"aurora-by-sir-edward-coley-burne-jones","title":"Aurora by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones","description":"Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones\u003cbr\u003e 1833–1898 | British \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eAurora\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Oil on canvas \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eAurora\u003c\/em\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At once mythological, musical and atmospheric, \u003cem\u003eAurora\u003c\/em\u003e 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Circa 1896 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Canvas: 70 1\/2″ high x 30″ wide (179.1 x 76.2 cm)\u003cbr\u003e Framed: 88″ high x 46″ wide (223.5 x 116.8 cm) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/rau-sfimages.s3.amazonaws.com\/dossier\/Dossier_32-3237.pdf\" target=\"new\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eView the Dossier\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Literature: \u003cbr\u003e “Edward Burne-Jones.” Strand Magazine 10 (1895): 25, 26.\u003cbr\u003e Burne-Jones, Georgiana. Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones. 2 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., 1904, vol. I, 304; vol. II, 258, 277, 282–283.\u003cbr\u003e Cortissoz, Royal. “Edward Burne-Jones.” Munsey’s Magazine, February 1907, 580, 581.\u003cbr\u003e Bibby, John Hartley Grundy. Bibby’s Annual. 1917, 2.\u003cbr\u003e Harrison, Martin, and Bill Waters. Burne-Jones. London: Barrie \u0026amp; Jenkins, 1973, 160.\u003cbr\u003e Fitzgerald, Penelope. Edward Burne-Jones: A Biography. London: Michael Joseph, 1975, 233, 260, 275.\u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné. “Aurora.” The Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné. Online. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Provenance:\u003cbr\u003e The artist’s widow, Georgiana, Lady Burne-Jones, until 1920\u003cbr\u003e Margaret Mackail, her daughter, by bequest until 1953\u003cbr\u003e Denis George Mackail, her son, by bequest\u003cbr\u003e Clare Mackail, his sister, by gift, and thence by family descent.\u003cbr\u003e Private Collection, London\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans","brand":"M.S. Rau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46181575622791,"sku":"32-3237","price":985000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0083\/2471\/0466\/files\/32-3237_1.png?v=1791998379","url":"https:\/\/rauantiques.com\/products\/aurora-by-sir-edward-coley-burne-jones","provider":"M.S. Rau","version":"1.0","type":"link"}