El General de la Orden de Sir Galahad. Resonancias de Sir Thomas Malory en la obra de Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Abstract

The revival of the Arthurian Legend as an essential subject in the visual arts of Victorian Britain was, in many cases, derived from the influence of Tennyson’s poetical works. Nevertheless, when it comes to Burne-Jones, his approach to the return of King Arthur is marked by his love for the medieval sources. Burne-Jone’s respect for Malory’s text and the moral principles that it promoted, led him to defend the original legend until his death, integrating it in his life and keeping himself apart not only from a society that he didn’t approve of but also from the latest artistic tendencies, which he didn’t understand. For this reason, his creations are an emblem of the love for the Middle Ages, and the choice of Arthurian subjects becomes a statement of his aesthetical and axiological principles and, sometimes, a testimony of his private life as well.