Adoration of the Magi thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Adoration of the Magi

Cartoon
1888 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The term 'cartoon', as used here, means a full-sized drawing for execution in another medium, in this case a tapestry. In this example, the drawing has been photographically enlarged and then over-painted. The scene shows the three Magi bringing their gifts to the Christ Child seated on the Virgin Mary's knee, with Joseph hovering in the background. The crown on the floor alludes to Christ's divine sovereignty. Its form was based on a 15th-century prototype: that worn by the Virgin Mary in Van Eyck's Adoration of the Lamb altarpiece in Ghent, which Burne-Jones had sketched. The background and the robes of the figures are plain, because William Morris was to add the ornamentation. Morris and Company wove the design for the chapel of Exeter College, Oxford. The tapestry cost £525.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAdoration of the Magi (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Photographic paper heightened with bodycolour and watercolour
Brief description
Cartoon for The Adoration of the Magi Tapestry, photographic paper heightened with bodycolour and watercolour, after Edward Burne-Jones, 1888, England
Physical description
Four panels of paper joined to form a cartoon for The Adoration of the Magi tapestry, photographic paper heightened with bodycolour and watercolour.
Dimensions
  • Height: 240cm
  • Width: 376cm
Style
Subjects depicted
Summary
The term 'cartoon', as used here, means a full-sized drawing for execution in another medium, in this case a tapestry. In this example, the drawing has been photographically enlarged and then over-painted. The scene shows the three Magi bringing their gifts to the Christ Child seated on the Virgin Mary's knee, with Joseph hovering in the background. The crown on the floor alludes to Christ's divine sovereignty. Its form was based on a 15th-century prototype: that worn by the Virgin Mary in Van Eyck's Adoration of the Lamb altarpiece in Ghent, which Burne-Jones had sketched. The background and the robes of the figures are plain, because William Morris was to add the ornamentation. Morris and Company wove the design for the chapel of Exeter College, Oxford. The tapestry cost £525.
Bibliographic references
  • Fagence Cooper, Suzanne, Pre Raphaelite Art in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, V&A Publications, 2003. 176p., ill. ISBN I 85177 393 2
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1919, London: Printed Under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1921
Collection
Accession number
E.5012-1919

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Record createdJanuary 6, 2004
Record URL
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