Love And The Pilgrim

On this day in 1833, Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones was born. Burne-Jones was one of the most important members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. This painting was his last major work. It was dedicated to his close friend, the poet Algernon Swinburne. The idea of the God of Love guiding a Pilgrim on his quest comes from The Romaunt of the Rose by the medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer, a book that Burne-Jones had read while a student at Oxford and which influenced many of the works he produced in collaboration with William Morris. Love is presented both as a Christian angel and as Cupid, the classical god of love.

Want to know more? Read our article "These Romantic Paintings Of Edward Burne-Jones Will Make You Miss Middle-Ages" on DailyArt Magazine.