Information
This is arguably Burne-Jones's most important early work. In the memorial biography of her husband, Georgiana Burne-Jones stated that it seemed: 'to sum up and seal the ten years that had passed since Edward first went to Oxford'. In terms of design, technique and expression, the picture demonstrates that Burne-Jones had reached a new and more personal style. It remained Burne-Jones's own favourite among his early works and in 1894 he tried to borrow it to make a large oil version.The subject is taken from the life of the Florentine knight St John Gualberto, founder of the Valombrosan Order in 1039, who was miraculously embraced by a wooden figure of Christ while praying at a wayside shrine after forgiving the murder of his kinsman. This obscure legend was unlikely to be familiar to a wide audience and this further enhanced its mystical and intensely poetic quality. Incidentally, the marigolds in the foreground came from the 'town garden' in Russell Square, close to Burne-Jones's house opposite the British Museum.
- Purchased, 1973.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
Association |
Artist |
Organisation |
Artist |
Sir Edward Burne-Jones |
- |
Inscriptions
Type |
Position(s) |
Method |
Date(s) |
Notes |
EDWARD BURNE-JONES 1863 |
Signature and date |
bottom right |
Painted |
1863 |
|
|
Exhibitions
Catalogue No. |
Venue |
Date(s) |
- |
215 |
Old Water-Colour Society |
1864 - 1864 |
|
Exhibition of the Works of Edward Burne-Jones |
9 |
New Gallery, London |
1892 - 1893 |
|
A Pre-Raphaelite Collection |
13 |
Goupil Gallery, London |
1896 - 1896 |
|
Exhibition of the Works of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Bart. |
53 |
New Gallery, London |
1898 - 1899 |
|
Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings of the 1860 Period |
102 |
Tate Gallery |
1923-04-27 - 1923-07-29 |
|
Centenary Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Bart. (1833-1898) |
8 |
Tate Gallery |
1933 - 1933 |
|
Exhibition of British Art 1000-1860 |
584 |
Royal Academy of Arts, London |
1934-01-006 - 1934-03-10 |
|
- |
43 |
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth |
1956 - 1956 |
|
Il Sacro e Il Profano nell'Arte dei Simbolisti |
145 |
Galeria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Turin |
1969 - 1969 |
|
Burne-Jones |
10 |
Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield |
1971-10-23 - 1971-11-28 |
|
Burne-Jones: The Paintings, Graphic and Decorative Work of Sir Edward Burne-Jones 1833-98 |
45 |
Hayward Gallery, London |
1975-11-01 - 1976 |
45 |
Southampton City Art Gallery |
1976 - 1976-03-01 |
45 |
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery |
1976-03-01 - 1976-04-01 |
|
The Pre-Raphaelites |
234 (repro) |
Tate Gallery, London |
1984-03-07 - 1984-05-28 |
|
Pre-Raphaelite Painters and Patrons in the North East |
20 (repro) |
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
1989-10-14 - 1990-01-15 |
|
Rossetti |
- |
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington |
1990-07-22 - 1991-02-14 |
|
Burne-Jones: Watercolours & Drawings |
27 |
Tate Gallery, London |
1993-07-01 - 1993-11-07 |
|
Visions of Love and Life: The Pre-Raphaelite Collection from the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery |
73 (repro) |
Seattle Art Museum, Washington |
1995-03-09 - 1995-05-07 |
73 (repro) |
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio |
1995-05-27 - 1995-07-16 |
73 (repro) |
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington |
1995-08-11 - 1995-10-15 |
73 (repro) |
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
1995-11-04 - 1996-01-02 |
73 (repro) |
High Museum of Art, Atlanta |
1996-01-23 - 1996-04-10 |
73 (repro) |
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery |
1996-05-25 - 1996-07-29 |
|
Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist Dreamer |
26 (repro) |
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
1998-06-04 - 1998-07-06 |
26 (repro) |
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery |
1998-10-17 - 1999-01-17 |
26 (repro) |
Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
1999-03-01 - 1999-06-06 |
|
Love Revealed: Simeon Solomon |
121 |
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery |
2005-10-01 - 2006-01-15 |
121 |
Villa Stuck, Munich |
- - 2006-06-18 |
|
The Pre-Raphaelites |
141 |
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
2009-02-26 - 2009-05-24 |
|
Literature
Author(s) |
Date(s) |
Publisher |
Pages |
Critical Review |
|
30 April 1864 |
Athenaeum |
p. 618 |
|
Critical Review |
|
1864 |
Art Journal |
p. 170 |
|
Critical Review |
|
1864 |
Times |
- |
|
Critical Review |
|
1864 |
Illustrated London News |
- |
|
Broadlands as It Was |
E. Clifford |
1890 |
- |
p. 56 |
|
Edward Burne-Jones: A Record and a Review |
Malcolm Bell |
1892 |
George Bell & Sons |
pp. 21,37,97 |
|
Review |
Julia Cartwright |
1894 |
The Art Annual |
pp. 11-12 |
|
Burne-Jones |
Otto von Schleinitz |
1901 |
Bielefeld & Leipzig |
p. 17 (repro) |
|
Burne-Jones |
Fortunee de Lisle |
1904 |
Methuen & Co. |
pp. 67, 69-74 |
|
Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones |
Georgiana Burne-Jones |
1904 |
Macmillan & Sons |
Vol. I, pp. 261-262; Vol. II, p. 231 |
|
Burne-Jones |
Bill Waters, Martin Harrison |
1973 |
Barrie & Jenkins |
p. 76, fig. 94 |
|
Burne-Jones Talking: His Studio Conversations |
Mary Lago |
1985 |
University of Michigan |
p. 107 |
|
Simbolismo en Europe |
|
1990 |
Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderna, Canary Islands |
pp-57-58 (repro) |
|
Burne-Jones |
Christopher Wood |
1998 |
Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
pp. 42 (repro), 44 |
|
Chivalry, Sacrifice & The Great War: The Medieval Contexts of Edward Burne-Jones'"The Miracle of the Merciful Knight" (from 'Speaking Images. Essays in Honor of V.A. Kolve') |
Allen J. Frantzen |
2001 |
Pegasus Press, The University of North Carolina at Asheville |
pp. 618-625 (repro) |
|
Edward Burne-Jones |
Patrick Bade |
2004 |
Paradise Books |
p.33, fig. 19 |
|
Hidden Burne-Jones, Works on paper by Edward Burne-Jones from Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery |
|
2007 |
Dan Giles, Ltd., London |
p. 76 |
|
The Pre-Raphaelites |
|
2009 |
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
cat.141,p.214; fig.52 |
Provenance
Purchased from the artist in 1864 by James Leathart; W Marchant; Sir John Middlemore |
Purchased at the Christie's sale of James Leathart, 19 June 1897, lot 7. |
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