Victorian Masterpieces from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico

The paintings depict the legend of Sleeping Beauty, also called Briar Rose. From left to right, they show the prince discovering rival knights; the king and courtiers; and the princess and her attendants. The figures in repose will awaken only when the hero kisses his beloved. Many of the poses blur the line between sleep and death, underscoring the stillness of their enchanted slumber. Burne-Jones linked the scenes through the repeated motif of overgrown roses. Their undulating tendrils recall the textile and wallpaper designs of his friend and collaborator William Morris. These pictures have become known as the Small Briar Rose series, to distinguish them from two larger and later painting cycles by the artist on the same subject.

The paintings depict the legend of Sleeping Beauty, also called Briar Rose. From left to right, they show the prince discovering rival knights; the king and courtiers; and the princess and her attendants. The figures in repose will awaken only when the hero kisses his beloved. Many of the poses blur the line between sleep and death, underscoring the stillness of their enchanted slumber. Burne-Jones linked the scenes through the repeated motif of overgrown roses. Their undulating tendrils recall the textile and wallpaper designs of his friend and collaborator William Morris. These pictures have become known as the Small Briar Rose series, to distinguish them from two larger and later painting cycles by the artist on the same subject.

The paintings depict the legend of Sleeping Beauty, also called Briar Rose. From left to right, they show the prince discovering rival knights; the king and courtiers; and the princess and her attendants. The figures in repose will awaken only when the hero kisses his beloved. Many of the poses blur the line between sleep and death, underscoring the stillness of their enchanted slumber. Burne-Jones linked the scenes through the repeated motif of overgrown roses. Their undulating tendrils recall the textile and wallpaper designs of his friend and collaborator William Morris. These pictures have become known as the Small Briar Rose series, to distinguish them from two larger and later painting cycles by the artist on the same subject.

According to Leighton, the composition was inspired by the posture of a tired model. He elaborated her sinuous pose and then added sheer orange draperies. Her skin flushed by the sun, she is transformed into a personification of summer heat. The image reflects Leighton’s allegiance to artistic ideals that emphasized harmonious color and form over narrative. This and Lachrymae (hanging nearby) were the last great pair of paintings he exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, in 1895. Critics raved, but tastes soon changed; Flaming June did not regain its fame until the Museo de Arte de Ponce acquired it in the 1960s. The frame is a reconstruction of the lost original designed by the artist.

The woman’s yellow smock and the hat at her feet indicate that she has been condemned for violating Catholic doctrine during the brutal Spanish Inquisition. Her rescuer, dressed as a friar, disguises her in hooded religious robes. The true friar behind them has been bound and gagged with a rosary. Although the scene is set in the sixteenth century, the Inquisition was not definitively abolished until 1834—within the lifetimes of some of Millais’s viewers. He earned popular success with scenes of romance and danger, but this work was too melodramatic for some critics.