Name: SIR EDWARD COLEY BURNE-JONES, BT., A.R.A., R.W.S. (BIRMINGHAM 1833-1898 LONDON)
Brand: Three studies of prone male nudes, probably for 'Venus Discordia'
Price: 3500.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

SIR EDWARD COLEY BURNE-JONES, BT., A.R.A., R.W.S. (BIRMINGHAM 1833-1898 LONDON)
Three studies of prone male nudes, probably for 'Venus Discordia'
pencil
7¹⁄₈ x 5¹⁄₈ in. (18.1 x 13 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 24 September 1974, lot 50, where purchased by the present owner.

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Lot Essay

Whilst the figures in this drawing don't match exactly, they appear to be studies for the male nudes wrestling in the foreground of Venus Discordia. Concieved as part of the Troy Triptych (Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery) in 1870, Venus Discordia was designed as a predella panel to complement Venus Concordia either side of The Feast of Peleus, and below The Story of Troy. The triptych was never finished, and nor was a large oil study of Venus Discordia now in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. However, Burne-Jones executed rare highly finished presentation drawings for both Venus subjects (both Whitworth Gallery, Manchester), and in that drawing we can see the echo of these figures, moved and manipulated to fit the composition. In keeping with the theme of the Trojan War, Venus Discordia shows the divisive effects of love, with Venus presiding over a scene of carnage inspired by the four vices, Anger, Envy, Suspicion and Strife.