Escape into paradise

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98), a key protagonist of the pre-Raphaelites, is being presented in Switzerland for the first time in a large-scale monographic exhibition. Victorian art has hitherto largely been neglected on the European continent. Up till now it was a prerequisite to actually go on a tour of the arts in England to become acquainted with this epoch. The exhibition has been conceived together with the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and presents around one hundred paintings and drawings, furniture and glass windows of the fascinating master of English Symbolism Burne-Jones. Moreover, the Kunstmuseum Bern makes reference to the Symbolism of his Swiss contemporary Ferdinand Hodler.

A discovery for fantasy fans as well
The title of the exhibition refers to one of the most important literary sources of inspiration for Burne-Jones in his narrative cycles: William Morris' very successful book The Earthly Paradise (1868). Morris, who was Burne-Jones' close friend, companion, and business partner since they studied together at Oxford, relates in The Earthly Paradise old Nordic, medieval, and classical Greek sagas and legends anew using archaic language. At the same time, the title characterizes the painter's primary conceptual concern, as his entire oeuvre can be viewed as an alternative, idealistic concept to the prosaic and mundane impact of the industrial revolution in late Victorian times. Burne-Jones took refuge in his art and in a world of sagas and tales peopled by knights, magicians, dragons, and princesses, with fairies, gods, and femmes fatales. These worlds resemble the fantasy universes of Harry Potter or The Lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. And so Burne-Jones' work today not only fascinates the art connoisseur but also the young adventurer and fortune seeker.

Great themes in great paintings
In his various painting series Burne-Jones, the former theology student, continually depicted people on a kind of pilgrimage. He also repeatedly makes allusion to fundamental themes such as guilt and atonement, the search for a meaning in life, beauty and transience, fortune and misfortune. Burne-Jones depicted his fantastic themes often in narrative cycles compromising several paintings. This mode of painting resembles the comic-strip illustrations of today. Besides the Perseus series further narrative cycles are presented: For example, the large-format series of Cupid and Psyche, which he executed together with Walter Crane, or the Pygmalion series in four paintings. Using medieval sources Burne-Jones created the Christian cycle of St. George and the Dragon, the fairytale-like and intensely coloured Sleeping Beauty series, and the heartrending depiction of the souls on the banks of the Styx.

Images & Documentations