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In 1861 Fr Wagner commissioned
the nineteen-year-old Edward Burne-Jones, who was living in Rottingdean at
the time, to paint a picture go go behind the High Altar of S Paul’s. A picture in this position is
called a reredos. It was painted in three parts, so is a triptych. The theme is the Incarnation
of Jesus. On either side were the two participants of the Annunciation,
the Angel Gabriel on the leeft and the Blessed Virgin on the right. This is
the start of the story of the Incarnation. The subject in the centre was
the Adoration of the Magi, when Mary presented the Infant Jesus to the
Gentiles, represented by the Wise Men. This event comes at the end of the
Christmas season. |
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Burne-Jones was young and not
yet a successful leader of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, although this
triptych, his first commissioned work, shows all the promise of his later
years. He could not afford the best paints and the student’s mixture of oils
has made the cleaning and maintenance of this picture a scholar’s nightmare. |
For many years the triptych
graced the High Altar of S Paul’s but in 1977 it was lent to the Brighton
Museum, when the church could no longer afford to insure it against theft. In 1994 it was sold at
Sotheby’s to a private buyer. The proceeds went towards the restoration of
the tower. |
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