England, 19th century / 1870–75
The Garden Court
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs The Garden Court as drawing (England, 19th century · 1870–75).
Art historian Andrea Wolk Rager has interpreted this drawing as related to Edward Burne-Jones's socialist beliefs, identifying the weaver at right in the work as a personification of artistic labor, dormant in industrialized Victorian society.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this drawing as graphite and watercolor, heightened with white gouache and credits Edward Burne-Jones (British, 1833–1898).
The museum's collection notes: The story of Briar Rose (known popularly as "Sleeping Beauty") occupied Edward Burne-Jones on and off for much of his career. He completed three related sets of paintings of the subject over a 30-year period. This drawing probably relates to the first series, now in the Museo de Arte in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Here, vines twist in arabesques against a flat, chartreuse background, as though ensnaring the six servants asleep at a loom and well.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtThe Garden CourtOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.