A seated fat lady

ca. 1866

Not on view

To entertain friends and family, Burne-Jones produced quickly-drawn caricatures throughout his career. The images often were opposite to the ideal forms found in his paintings. When the artist shared rooms with William Morris at the start of their careers, he often contrasted his own extreme thinness to his friend's rotundity. At once fascinated and repulsed by obesity, the artist centered many caricatures on large overdressed society women and non-ideal female nudes. This example belonged to Maria Zambaco, a sculptor and member of London's Greek community with whom Burne-Jones had an extended affair. The pose echoes one found in the artist's painting "The Lament" (1866, tempera, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow).

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: A seated fat lady
Artist: Sir Edward Burne-Jones (British, Birmingham 1833–1898 Fulham)
Date: ca. 1866
Medium: Pen and ink on lined blue paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 4 5/8 × 3 3/4 in. (11.8 × 9.5 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2020
Object Number: 2021.16.4
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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