Figure Studies, Lower Part (recto) and Study of Two Mounted Figures (verso), Pages 115 and 116 from a book of studies, c. 1880-1890

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The Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones was a prolific, obsessive draftsman. To prepare for a painting, he would execute innumerable life studies, each more exacting than the last. While he ultimately painted his figures clothed, Burne-Jones drew from a nude model so that he might achieve anatomical correctness even beneath the garment. This rigorous preparatory process enable him to capture, for instance, the accurate foreshortening of an arm, the convincing angle of a shoulder, a figure's subtle shift in weight.

This group of life studies comes from a sketchbook the artist kept in the 1880s. It was later disassembled and purchased by the MIA in 1915 from a dealer who had acquired it from the artist's son. The book comprises 113 drawings and testifies to Burne-Jones's daily devotion to drawing and disciplined study of the human body.

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Details
Title
Figure Studies, Lower Part (recto) and Study of Two Mounted Figures (verso), Pages 115 and 116 from a book of studies
Artist Life
1833 - 1898
Role
Maker
Accession Number
15.19.54a,b
Provenance
Sir Philip Burne-Jones (artist's son) Edmund D. Brooks, Minneapolis, 1913
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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