The Fates: study for Clotho

Edward Burne-Jones

Date: c. 1865

Materials: Black chalk

Studies of sculpture

Volumetric studies such as this show Burne-Jones's acquaintance with classical, especially Greek, sculpture and its assimilation into his painting style by the late 1860s. From 1861 he lived opposite the British Museum, and is known to have made studies in the sculpture galleries, including the Elgin Marbles.

Ruskin's influence

Ruskin's wish to lure Burne-Jones away from what he saw as the stultifying influence of Rossettian medievalism included a commission in 1863 for a series of mythological figures to illustrate 'Munera Pulveris', his essay on political economy. Soon after this, Burne-Jones embarked on a number of classical subjects, including 'The Lament', 'The Hours' (now at Sheffield) and 'The Fates', a subject never completed.