Now cave-pierced rocks there rose up everywhere, And gaunt old trees, of leaves and fruit all hare; And midst this wretchedness a mighty hall, Whose great stones made a black and shining wall; The doors were open, and thence came a cry Of one in anguish wailing bitterly . . . In the original design for the scheme this scene takes place in the wood of "gaunt old trees" described in Morris's poem, but in this and the duplicate cartoon at Stuttgart (rather more finished but less spontaneous), Burne-Jones has fixed on an indeterminate "cave-pierced" landscape in which Medusa paces while her sisters crouch beneath their wings. Morris goes on to describe Medusa (like Nimue; see cat. no. 64) as having snakes entangled in her hair, but in the incomplete form of this cartoon Burne-Jones emphasizes only her terrible stare, per- haps showing her awareness of the intruder's presence as "now behind her unseen Perseus passed." In addition to fine pencil studies for the head of Medusa, there are two bold designs for the figure of Perseus in armor (one of a historical kind, the other of the artists invention), one in Birmingham, the other at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. 1
This is a preparatory study for 'The Finding of Medusa' from 'The Perseus Series', a cycle commissioned in 1875 by Arthur Balfour for the music room of his London house at 4 Carlton Gardens. The subject comes from 'The Doom of King Acrisius', a poem by William Morris. This study shows Perseus about to slay the Gorgon Medusa. He looks into a mirror to avoid her fatal gaze. This study of Perseus in armour was specifically designed for 'The Finding of Medusa' for the Perseus Series (Series I in the Stattsgalerie, Stuttgart; Series II in the Southampton City Art Gallery), as well as two compositional studies (both in New York: one in the Pierpont Morgan Library, the other in a Private Collection). Burne-Jones made two finished full length studies of Perseus in armour for 'The Finding of Medusa', this one in Birmingham's collections, and a similar study (although not used) now in the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge. An additional full length study of Perseus in armour exists, used for 'Perseus & Atlas' (now in a Private Collection; see Phillips,18 April 1988, Lot 103). Many studies exist for various armour-plated body parts for the series, in collections at the Courtauld Institute, London (head & helmet), Art Institute of Chicago (study for 'Doom Fulfilled'), and the Paul Mellon Foundation (armour studies). The most comprehensive catalogue of all things related to the 'Perseus Series' is the Kurt Locher publication for the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart: 'Der Perseus Zyklus von Edward Burne-Jones'.