Draped Head, Eyes Looking Toward Right c. 1873 - 1877

Edward Burne-Jones rendered this head study in pencil, during the late 19th century, a time of rapid industrialization. The artist, associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, looked to the past, finding inspiration in medieval and early Renaissance art. Here, a woman’s head is veiled, yet her gaze drifts away from us. Her expression seems to carry a weight of introspection or longing. Burne-Jones, like others of his time, was interested in exploring the inner lives of women, their perceived emotional depth, and their complex roles within society. “I mean by a picture,” he once said, “a beautiful, romantic dream of something that never was, never will be – in a light better than any light that ever shone – in a land no one can define or remember, only desire.” The woman’s averted eyes ask us to consider the gazes that society often imposes on women, and how she might be resisting those expectations, creating her own narrative, one of quiet strength and personal reflection.