Head of a Girl — probably Laura Tennant by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt ARA

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Head of a Girl — probably Laura Tennant

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt ARA (1833-1898)

c. 1880s

Pencil on paper

8 x 7 inches; 20.5 x 18 cm.

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"Burne-Jones was deeply affected by feminine charm and beauty. He produced many tender studies of female heads, often as studies for paintings, but also simple for pleasure. This drawing is probably one of those which he drew purely as a response to feminine beauty as it does not seem to relate to any unfinished work. Beacuse of Burne-Jones's tendency to idealize the human face and figure, it is sometimes difficult to identiy his subjects with any certainty; a possible candidate here is Laura Tennant, who visited Burne-Jones's study in the mid-1880s. One of the bewitching of the circle of cultured, aristocratic familes who made up the group known as the Souls, she charmed all who met her. The face of the mermaid in The Depths of the Sea (1886) was thought to bear a strong resemblance to her" (Waters, 58-59).

References

Waters, Bill. Burne-Jones -- A Quest for Love: Works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones Bt and Related Works by Contemporary Artists. London: Peter Nahum, 1993. Catalogue number 28.

Last modified 2 June 2020