St Theophilus and the Angel – Study of a Court Lady 

Edward Burne-Jones drew this study of a court lady with chalk on brown paper. The artist was a key figure in the second wave of the Pre-Raphaelite movement in England. Burne-Jones looked to the art, literature, and culture of the Middle Ages for inspiration. He draws his courtly figure with classical garb, which can be seen as an expression of cultural conservatism. But the Pre-Raphaelites were not simply traditionalists, and they frequently engaged with contemporary social issues. The medieval past that they idealize was a world before industrialization. The movement took shape amid intense debates about the role of art in a modern, urban, and industrialized society. It also challenged the Royal Academy's control over British art. To understand Burne-Jones' artistic vision, a historian would look at exhibition reviews, letters between artists, and manifestos from this period. This drawing is part of a complex cultural moment, and its meaning is bound up with the institutions of art.