The appearance of the work is now far from what the artist intended as a result of the altered balance of light and dark. The paper is lined with canvas and attached to a stretcher. Exposure to light and air has darkened the paper, less so where it overlies the stretcher. The stretcher outline can now be seen as lighter strips. Areas that were painted with lead white have discoloured to a lesser extent than the paper. White 'haloes' surround some brush strokes where the paint was thinned, and paint medium ran into the paper. The 'haloes' are accentuated by the discoloration of the surrounding paper giving rise to a 'photographic negative' effect. Tate Gallery label, September 2004
Letter from Philip Burne-Jones to Henry Dearle dated June1898 ( Fulham library) "I am keeping back from the sale of my Father's works the Tapestry design he was at work at up to within a short time of his death - which I believe you intended to workout in tapestry... if you have enough to go upon or if the design is sufficient for your purposes" Fitzwilliam work list 1898 Began a design for the tapestry for the Passing of Venus, that the tradition of tapestry weaving at Merton Abbey might not be forgotten or cease. Dearle at Morris & Co must have photographed this cartoon as a tapestry was woven between 1901 and 1907 at Merton Abbey, but was destroyed by fire at the Brussels Exhibition in 1910, and another was woven between 1922 and 1926, presumably form the photograph as this cartoon was held by the Tate at that date. The versions of the Passing of Venus in the 1919 sale Lot 150 (15 1/2 x 37 inches) and lot 167 (22 x 45) are too small to be this version.