Figure of Fortune, for "The Wheel of Fortune"; verso: blank c. 1875

Editor: This is Edward Burne-Jones' sketch, "Figure of Fortune," a pencil drawing. The draped figure is so elegant, yet faceless. What symbols do you see at play here? Curator: Notice how the drapery both reveals and conceals. What emotions does this evoke? This interplay can symbolize Fortune's fickle nature, her gifts, and sudden withdrawals. The absent face, too, suggests the anonymity of fate. Editor: So, it's about the universal experience of fortune, not a specific person? Curator: Precisely. It speaks to our collective hopes and anxieties about what life may bring, the wheel ever turning. Editor: I see the cyclical nature of fortune and misfortune so clearly now.