PerseusAndromeda1.0206

PerseusAndromeda1.0206_Burne-Jones

Three paintings by Burne-Jones depicting scenes from the myth of Perseus and Andromeda

Burne-Jones conceived and painted part of the Perseus Cycle in response to William Morris’ epic poem, “The Doom of Acrisius”. It seems important to note that Burne-Jones is primarily illustrating Morris’ poem and not so much recreating the classical myth per se.

Three paintings were completed, “The Rock of Doom,” “The Doom Fulfilled,” and “The Baleful Head.” (See captions for individual pages.)

An earlier unfinished version of “The Rock of Doom” and “The Doom Fulfilled” joins both narratives onto one canvas, conserved at the National Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide. The Chicago Art Institute has a gouache sketch of “The Doom Fulfilled”.

Burne-Jones also projected a painting for Pereus at the Court of Phineus, where the hero petrified Andromeda’s uncle and his advocates. The drawings for this are at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge primarily.