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Study of a Young Woman's Head
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (English, 1833–1898)
about 1895
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
61 x 45.7 cm (24 x 18 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert Walcott
Accession Number05.105
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite style, a group of artists in England who revered Raphael and other fifteenth century Italian painters, Burne-Jones presented an idealized feminine beauty in his art. He made studies of his subjects at every step – his studio was constantly filled with works at various stages of finish. Burne-Jones believed his studies to be independent, complete works even if they appear unfinished.
Here, he concentrated on the model’s head, depicting her in profile against a diffused blue background. This painting, which was in his studio at the time of his death, could either be the beginning of an unfinished portrait or, more probably, a study for a figure in a larger composition.
Here, he concentrated on the model’s head, depicting her in profile against a diffused blue background. This painting, which was in his studio at the time of his death, could either be the beginning of an unfinished portrait or, more probably, a study for a figure in a larger composition.
ProvenanceJuly 16, 1898, posthumous Burne-Jones studio sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, lot 60, to P. and D. Colnaghi, London (stock no. 896) [see note 1]; 1905, sold by Colnaghi to Robert Richards Walcott (b. 1874 - d. 1956), Cambridge, MA; 1905, gift of Robert Walcott to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 19, 1905)
NOTES:
[1] According to notes in the curatorial file, a Colnaghi label on the reverse of the painting reads "Purchased by us on July 16, 1898 at Messrs. Christie, Manson, etc., lot 60A, sale of remaining works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones sold by order of his executors." The description of lot 60 in the catalogue reads "A study of a female head," and the lot number may therefore have been mistaken for "60A."
NOTES:
[1] According to notes in the curatorial file, a Colnaghi label on the reverse of the painting reads "Purchased by us on July 16, 1898 at Messrs. Christie, Manson, etc., lot 60A, sale of remaining works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones sold by order of his executors." The description of lot 60 in the catalogue reads "A study of a female head," and the lot number may therefore have been mistaken for "60A."