Edward Burne-Jones, Victorian Artist-Dreamer [Hardcover]

Stephen Wildman et al. (Author), Stephen Wildman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Metropolitan Museum of Art Series | Publication Date: 1998

Published to accompany an American exhibition of the work of the Victorian painter Edward Burne-Jones, this volume covers his whole career, not only the Pre-Raphaelite period for which he is best known. Burne-Jones created a style of romantic symbolism that had wide-reaching influence on British and European art. He was also an important force in the Arts and Crafts movement, producing with his friend, William Morris, decorative art ranging from ceramic tiles and stained glass to tapestries and illustrated books for Morris's renowned Kelmscott Press. The book reproduces all aspects of Burne-Jones's diverse and prodigious output.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a schoolboy in Birmingham, England, Burne-Jones was already signing his name "Edouard de Bymyngham"--an early romantic impulse borne out by the life and work of this second-generation Pre-Raphaelite and leader of the aesthetic movement, whose massive output of watercolor and oil paintings, intricate pencil drawings, tapestries, stained-glass windows and other decorative objects are gathered this summer at a Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit in New York City. In this richly illustrated monograph, Wood, a Victorianist and London gallery owner, provides a sometimes cursory but fervent portrait of the artist, whose often murky technique and sentimental narrative proclivities (Arthurian legend and fairy tales figure hugely) have had a checkered critical history. Although he was the first artist to be given a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, Burne-Jones's reputation eroded during the "darkest days of modernism," writes Wood. But Wood's enthusiasm, bolstered by the thoughtful testimony of Burne-Jones champion Henry James and the liberally quoted words of the artist himself, who is revealed as appealingly self-conscious and extremely adroit with language, is infectious. Wood perhaps overidealizes the lifelong friendship and collaboration with William Morris, begun at Oxford, but his retelling is moving all the same when, upon Morris's death in 1896, Burne-Jones writes that "the things that in thought are most of me, most dear and necessary, are dear and necessary to no one except Morris only." There are 80 full-color and 120 b&w images, though the lack of comparative illustrations (especially by Burne-Jones's mentor Dante Gabriel Rossetti) impedes Wood's art-historical analysis considerably. (Aug.) FYI: Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist-Dreamer, the official exhibition catalogue, is published by the Metroplitan Museum and distributed by Abrams. It offers more biographical detail, more illustrations and accessible, often illuminating, catalogue entries, with essays by Alan Crawford, Stephen Wildman and other critics and curators. ($75 376p ISBN 0-8109-6522-4)

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300085826
• ISBN-13: 978-0300085822
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,234,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a sumptuous feast of color and fantasy, November 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist-dreamer (Hardcover)

This is a real eye opener of a book if you are looking for an in depth retrospective of the artist's body of work! Burne-Jones is at last receiving his fair due of recognition as witnessed by the recent Met show in the Summer of 1998. This book showcases his many merits, including a unerring color and design technique applied to fantastical subjects. What makes the book so irresistible is the wealth of color plates accompanied by detailed explanations. It also helps that the authors were thoughtful enough to leave out any stuffy, academic narrative that overburdens this genre.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent book for a magnificent exhibition, August 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist-Dreamer (Paperback)

To visit the Burne-Jones exhibition at New York's Metropolitain Museum of Art is a thrill beyond describing. It is like being surrounded by old friends of the sort usually found in dreams.The stunning, fully illustrated catalogue that accompanies the show is perhaps the best catalogue I have seen, most notably for its impeccable and stimulating essays, and for its phenominal wealth of color reproductions. This book is a stunner, despite two or three flipped pictures( which I guess could happen to anyone in the rush to get such an involved publication ready in time!) I would advise all bookshops, libraries and Burne-Jones lovers to order this book now for its September release. It is sure to be the most valuable book on its subject for many years to come.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pre-Raphaelite Splendor, July 18, 2000

By 

cturtle (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist-dreamer (Hardcover)

As I only had about 30 minutes to view this exhibit at the Met (I know - it's absurd), I am delighted to have this beautiful catalog to examine in close detail. The reproductions are indeed stunning, and the text, although very detailed, is quite readable. A treasure for art lovers, especially fans of the Pre-Raphaelite style.