Vivien, from "The Idylls of the King"

After (?) Sir Edward Burne-Jones British

Author Related author Alfred Tennyson British

second half 19th century

Not on view

A woman with flowing garments walks through a wood, with text below tying the image to Tennyson's "Idlylls of the King," a poetic retelling of the story of Vivien and Merlin from Arthurian legend. There, King Mark of Cornwall sends his lover Vivien to Camelot to disrupt the court where she feigns love for Merlin, hoping to persuade him to share his secrets. After they travel to France, Merlin relents and, when he fallis asleep under a hollow oak tree, Vivien uses magic to trap and make him invisible, effectively ending his life.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Vivien, from "The Idylls of the King"
Artist: After (?) Sir Edward Burne-Jones (British, Birmingham 1833–1898 Fulham)
Publisher: (?) Kelmscott Press (Hammersmith, London)
Author: Related author Alfred Tennyson (British, Somersby, Lincolnshire 1809–1892 Surrey)
Date: second half 19th century
Medium: Process print
Dimensions: Image: 8 11/16 × 4 5/16 in. (22 × 11 cm)
Sheet: 10 3/8 × 6 13/16 in. (26.4 × 17.3 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Bequest of Grace M. Pugh, 1985
Object Number: 1986.1180.1961
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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