Acrisius, King of Argos, having been warned by the oracle that he would be killed by his daughter's son, imprisoned her in a tower of brass. However, Danaë bore a son to Jove, who fulfilled the prophecy. Here, Danaë watches the construction of the tower with apprehension. This is one of two small versions of the subject painted by Burne-Jones for one of his strongest supporters, the Glasgow merchant, William Graham, in 1872; the second version, of 1876, is in the Fogg Art Museum.
There is no disputing the dates given to the Fogg and the Ashmolean versions of "Danae" as these appear in the Fitzwilliam work list. However there are reasons to suggest that these may be incorrect as stylistically these works are far removed from that of the early 1870s, they most resemble the work of the late 1860s and for this reason appear anachronistic within Burne-Jones's artistic development. The original drawing for The Earthly Paradise was made in c. 1868 and the two versions held by the Fogg and Ashmolean, would appear to have been made a short time after with the aid of an assistant. By the early 1870s, Burne-Jones had become less generalized and more focused on clarity of line, concentrating on greater detail, strongly influenced by his recent study of the Italian Masters during his visit to Italy in 1871. The majority of the dates given in the work list are entirely correct, but there are some inaccuracies in Burne-Jones's work list as evidenced by Georgiana's corrections. It is impossible to ascertain the direct source for Burne--Jones's information about his earlier work, but this may have been his extensive collection of numbered sketchbooks. He was making the list in the 1890s with an imperfect memory prompted by his relative Malcom Bell, who was working on a life and work of the artist ( Sir Edward Burne-Jones A Record and Review, pub 1892) and thus the situation inevitably allowed the introduction of errors, this has to be borne in mind when considering the dating of works before 1870. It is therfore suggested here that the two works in the Ashmolean and the Fogg date from between 1867 and 1869.