The Delaware Art Museum Features Edward Burne-Jones "Flower Book Illustrations"

Written by Chrstina Hopper Thursday, 26 January 2012 03:01

Wilmington, Delaware.- The Delaware Art Museum is proud to present "A Secret Book of Designs: The Burne-Jones Flower Book", on view at the museum from January 28th through April 22nd. Between 1882 and 1898, Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) periodically worked on a series of small, circular watercolor images, each inspired by the name of a flower. In 1905, after the artist's death, his wife published these representations in an exquisite, labor-intensive facsimile edition limited to 300. "A Secret Book of Designs" will feature all 38 images from one of these rare un-bound books, recently acquired for the Museum's Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives. Edward Burne-Jones was profoundly inspired by the landscape surrounding his cottage in Rottingdean on the south coast of England, and he incorporated elements of the sea, the cliffs, and the downs into these images. He periodically retreated to this village to escape the social and professional demands of his life in London, seeking an opportunity to recharge both physically and creatively.

Working on his "Book of Flowers" became an integral part of his routine there, and the peace he found is reflected in these pensive, dream-like illustrations. The book was a deeply personal project for Burne-Jones; one that he shared with very few people. He collected hundreds of beautiful -- and often obscure -- flower names, choosing to illustrate only those that encouraged deeper reflection. Despite its name, the images in The Flower Book are not of the flowers themselves, but rather of subjects suggested by their names. "It is not enough to illustrate them," he wrote, "I want . . . to wring their secret from them." In 1905, Burne-Jones' wife, Georgiana, worked with the Fine Art Society in London to publish a facsimile of her late husband's remarkable work.

The images were faithfully reproduced by French printer Henri Piazza as collotypes with hand-stenciled watercolor additions in a technique called pochoir. The portrayals are so brilliantly printed that they are often mistaken for original watercolors. Only 300 copies of The Flower Book were published, most as bound books, though a small number were produced as individually matted plates housed in a clamshell box. The Museum acquired an unbound version of The Flower Book in 2009 and is fortunate to be one of the few public institutions in the world to have one in its collection.

Founded in 1912, the Delaware Art Museum is best known for its large collection of works by Wilmington native Howard Pyle and fellow American illustrators; a major collection of British Pre-Raphaelite art; and urban landscapes by John Sloan and his circle. Visitors can also enjoy the outdoor Copeland Sculpture Garden and a number of exhibitions throughout the year. The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, and holds a collection of more than 12,000 works. The museum, founded in 1912 by the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artist Howard Pyle, focuses on American art and illustration from the 19th to the 21st century as well as the English Pre-Raphaelite movement of the mid-19th century.Newly renovated and expanded, the Delaware Art Museum offers a 9-acre (36,000 m2) Sculpture Park, the Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives, studio art classes, an interactive Kids’ Corner learning area, the delART Café featuring free Wi-Fi access, and the Museum Store with distinctive books and gifts. Visit the museum's website at ...http://www.delart.orgThe Delaware Art Museum Features Edward Burne-Jones "Flower Book Illustrations"

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