Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource : The Collection

The Ring Given to Venus

By Sir Edward Burne-Jones

1865 – 1867

Accession number: 1927P1031.8

Etching. Printed in black

Width: 170 mm

Height: 128 mm

Palace setting. To the left is a full length nude female statue, a man is placing a ring on her finger. To the right an attendant hangs up garlands, whilst a group of other figures throw balls around.

Information

Birmingham's collection has six of these proofs printed in black ink, four in brown ink, the original printing plate, and a study of the subject. This version is an original 1865 proof.The quality of line in these engravings demonstrates Burne-Jones's inexperience with the medium. Although it is lively and graceful in parts (for example, in the group of attendants), his general unfamiliarity with the graver reveals itself in the hard lines of the statue of Venus and of the girl in the centre, decking the wall.