Zephyr and Psyche by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt ARA

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Zephyr and Psyche

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

1865

Watercolor and bodycolor on canvas

14 1/2 x 10 inches; 36.9 x 25.4 cm.

Signed and dated 1865 verso

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Commentary by Anthea Brooke

Withal did Love unto him the Wind
Called Zephyrus, who most was to his mind
And said, "O rainy wooer of the Spring
I pray thee, do for me an easy thing;
To such a hill-top go, O gentle Wind,
And there a sleeping maiden will thou find;
Her perfect body in thine arms with care
Take her up, and unto the green valley bear
That lies before my noble house of gold:
There leave her lying on the daisies cold."
--William Morris, The Earthly Paradise

This work was executed when Burne-Jones was working in close relations with William Morris and the Firm, and the few paintings made during the period 1864-1864 were almost all derived from his designs for The Earthly Paradise; the illustrations for "The Story of Cupid and Psyche" were begun in 1865, and this watercolour is based on a drawing for a woodblock for this publication, for which a list of illustrations in Morris' hand -- in which Zephyr and Psyche appears as No. 8 -- is in the William Morris Art Gallery. This publication was to have had about 800 illustrations by Burne-Jones, but the method was found to be too expensive and was finally published with only one design by him.

References

Brooke, Anthea. Victorian Painting. Catalogue for exhibition November-December 1977. London: Fine Art Society, 1977. No. 3.

Last modified 12 June 2020