Information

One of a number of studies in Birmingham's collection for the watercolour entitled 'Theophilus and the Angel'. Two versions of the painting were made, one was destroyed in the second world war (1863), the other (c.1866) was sold at Sotheby's in 2008.The design differs considerably from that finally adopted for the 1863 watercolour. On the left, Theophilus stands on the first three steps, instead of on the topmost step. The temple of Venus is in the background at centre, whereas in the finished watercolour it is on the right. The body of St. Dorothea and her mourners are placed more to the left than in the watercolour, and the background figures in the latter appear to be omitted.The verso is a study showing an entirely different subject. The subject is taken from the Old Testament story of the prophet Ezekiel and the boiling pot (Ezekiel, chapters 16-24), and is probably a study for the illustration of the story for the Dalziel's Bible published in 1880. Burne-Jones began making designs for the project in 1863, and several studies and sketches of this are in the collection of the Tate Britain, which this study closely resembles. Also in Birmingham's collection are two wood engravings made of Burne-Jones's design for the Dalziels' Bible as well as the original woodblock.

  • Bequeathed by James Richardson Holliday, 1927.
  • © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Makers

Association Artist Organisation
Artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones -

Inscriptions

Type Position(s) Method Date(s) Notes
Theophilus & the Angel (bottom left) / Ezekiel & the boiling pot (bottom right)
- - Handwritten - Sepia ink. not in the artist's hand
 

Exhibitions

Catalogue No. Venue Date(s)
Hidden Burne Jones
15 Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery 2007-04-04 - 2007-07-01
15 Leighton House, London 2007-10-14 - 2008-01-25
 

Literature

Author(s) Date(s) Publisher Pages
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings
A E Whitley 1939 Bemrose & Sons Ltd, Derby p. 59
 
Hidden Burne-Jones, Works on paper by Edward Burne-Jones from Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
2007 Dan Giles, Ltd., London p. 92

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