Saint Barbara

1864

“The Merciful Knight” at the Old Water-Colour Society

Elected an associate of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours (the “Old Water-Colour Society”), he exhibited there, among other works, “The Merciful Knight”, the first picture that fully revealed his ripened personality as an artist. The next six years saw a series of fine watercolours at the same gallery.

winter 1864

Death of his newborn son Christopher

In the winter of 1864 Georgiana fell gravely ill with scarlet fever and gave birth to a second son, Christopher, who died soon afterwards. The family then moved to 41 Kensington Square, where their daughter Margaret was born in 1866.

1864

Son born: Christopher Burne-Jones

1866

Meets Maria Zambaco

Mrs Cassavetti commissioned him to paint her daughter, Maria Zambaco, in “Cupid Finding Psyche”; the introduction led to a passionate affair, described as the “emotional climax of his life”. It ended with Maria trying to kill herself by throwing herself into Regent’s Canal.

1870

The “Phyllis and Demophoön” scandal: he quits the Society

Maria Zambaco’s features were clearly recognisable in the barely draped Phyllis, and Demophoön’s nakedness offended Victorian sensibilities. Asked to make a slight alteration, Burne-Jones instead withdrew not only the picture from the walls but himself from the Society.

1870–1877

Seven years away from exhibitions: turning to oils

After bitterly hostile attacks in the press he exhibited only two works in these years, yet worked unremittingly: he turned from watercolour to oils and planned the first “Briar Rose” series, “Laus Veneris”, “The Golden Stairs”, the “Pygmalion” series and “The Mirror of Venus”. His partnership with the photographer Frederick Hollyer, whose reproductions brought his work to a wide audience, also began then.