Design for the decoration of a piano
Draughtsman: Burne-Jones, Edward
Height: 292 mm
Width: 511 mm
Method of acquisition: Given (1912-05) by Murray, Charles Fairfax
In the early 1860s Burne-Jones decorated a small upright piano with a plain oak case, designed and owned by G.P. Boyce. He painted the panel over the keyboard with a picture of six figures in a landscape, and according to Mr Wilson of the Victoria and Albert Museum (note in file, 21 April, '71) the present drawing is a sketch for this panel, showing only four figures. Another design for the same picture was shown at the 1899 Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition (No. 20) lent by Miss Radcliffe. The piano itself was sold at the Boyce Sale, Christie's, 5 July 1897 (£23.2.0), bought by a New York dealer. It is illustrated, indistinctly, in the 'Architectural Review', V, 1898-9, p. 151. The design can also be related to an earlier piano decoration described by Lady Burne-Jone, 'Memorials', Vol. I, p. 207, (1860): "Mrs Catherwood gave us a piano, made by Priestly of Berners Street, who had patented a small one of inoffensive shape that we had seen and admired at Madox Brown's house; we had ours made of unpolished American walnut, a perfectly plain wood of pleasing colour, so that Edward could paint upon it. The little instrument when opened shows inside the lid a very early design fro the 'Chant d' Armour', and on the panel beneath the keyboard there is a gilded and lacquered picture of Death, veiled and crowned, standing outside the gate of a garden where a number of girls, unconscious of his approach, are resting and listening to music". This piano is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a comparison confirms that the present is a later development of a similar idea.
Support composed of paper
Drawing (image-making) : Graphite on paper
Accession number: 738.22
Primary reference Number: 26004
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Design for the decoration of a piano" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/26004 Accessed: 2024-11-22 10:55:52
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/26004
|title=Design for the decoration of a piano
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 10:55:52|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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