Two Female Heads

Edward Burne-Jones

Date: c. 1865

Materials: Black and red chalk, touched with pencil

Important milestone

The larger of these two beautiful studies bears some similarity to the head of the left figure in the 1866 watercolour 'The Lament' (William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow), but it is not quite close enough to be regarded as a specific study. The drawings are a milestone in the transition of Burne-Jones's style from the overtly medieval to the more timelessly classical.

Homage to Raphael

Burne-Jones relished the challenge inherent in every technique of draughtsmanship, and on occasion produced a finished 'presentation' drawing in this style of soft chalk on fairly heavy paper, which gives a rich grainy texture to shadows and contours. The combination of red and black chalk on these sheets declares the artist's knowledge of, and interest in, Renaissance drawing, being a deliberate homage to the great Italian masters such as Andrea del Sarto and Raphael.