The Paris Musée d'Orsay has been holding an exhibition of works by British Victorian painter Edward Burne-Jones until June 6th 1999. Burne-Jones (1833-1898) first studied theology at Oxford where he met William Morris (1834-1896) and both turned their attention to art shortly after a trip to France.
Their friendship lasted over 40 years during which they worked closely together. Morris was a painter and also an architect, a decorator, a businessman and a writer who was dealing with many things.
In Oxford he played the role of a mentor for Burne-Jones and made him acquainted with the writings of Ruskin who gave them his support.
Ruskin notably enabled Burne-Jones to travel to Italy in 1859 and accompanied him on a second trip three years later.
The discovery of Renaissance painters in the Peninsula was a determining turn in the career of the young painter who then freed himself from the influence of pre-raphaelite artists and notably Rossetti to whose principles he had previously stuck.
Meanwhile Morris worked much under the influence of Ruskin when he produced many decorative pieces in his manufacturing company.
Morris wanted to revive the mediaeval spirit and worked intensely to this effect using the best craftsmen of his time and paving the way to Art Nouveau.
Morris also wanted to introduce art in daily life and went against the ugliness of industrial production.
Meanwhile, between 1872 and 1878, Burne-Johns produced 270 cartons and many pieces of furniture. At the end of the 1880's he created a series of tapestries based on the theme of the Adoration of the Magi and made the huge Saint Graal tapestry for Stanmore Hall, the residence of an Australian magnate.
Burne-Jones was much hailed for his work by his fellow-countrymen and through his deep influence over a generation of artists was finally considered as the equal of the great masters of the past.
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