This drawing is a study for the Tree of Forgiveness (1882, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight), Burne-Jones’s second treatment of Ovid’s story Phyllis and Demophoon. Phyllis, Queen of Thrace, hanged herself and was turned into an almond tree when deserted by her one true love, Demophoon, the son of Theseus. Burne-Jones represents the moment when Demophoon returns from his travels and Phyllis springs out of the almond tree, entwining her faithless lover in her arms. This mythological subject revealed Burne-Jones’ own emotional and spiritual plight, paralleling his love affair with Mary Zambaco. During the 1860s, Burne-Jones had painted a series of paintings suggesting her extraordinary power over him, epitomised by his captivating but deadly Sidonia von Bork. When in 1870 he painted Phyllis and Demophoon his mood was yet darker as his emotional predicament reached a climax. Her demands upon him, that he was unwilling or incapable of fulfilling, left him near suicidal and the love affair tragically ended in 1871. Maria’s spell over him was so powerful that he was tortured by her memory for the rest of his life. This epic restatement of his earlier Phyllis and Demophoon coincided with Maria’s return to London in 1879 when they were in contact once again. The energy of the exchange in looks between the man and woman became the pivotal point of The Tree of Forgiveness and in this pencil study Burne-Jones seeks to convey through his model’s face and pose her psychological tension. This series of studies is an examination of the twist of the female torso and the position of the right arm and shoulder. The artist is exploring the outer line down the body from the shoulder to the hips. It would seem that the artist was unsure about covering or revealing the breasts with the arm, possibly recalling the censorship of the earlier version. NB The drawing is not from Maria but from a model
Sir John and Lady Witt