Edward Burne-Jones at Tate Britain

The new exhibition at Tate Britain is by Edward Burne-Jones, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the second half of the 19th Century. I always have a problem with the Pre-Raphaelites since there seems to be an exhibition involving them most years and too much exposure can lead to boredom. This exhibition is a bit different and isn't about the Pre-Raphaelites, it's about Burne-Jones, a solo exhibition with loads of examples of his work across painting, stained glass, tapestry, illustrations and a range of other things. That makes it a bit different and also makes it fascinating. It was also pleasing to see that the poster for the exhibition is a detail from 'Laus Veneris', a painting which normally hangs in the Laing Gallery in Newcastle and which is one of the first paintings I ever saw.

The exhibition is well curated and, as usual, is accompanied by a great little booklet that explores the themes of each room. The first works are some incredibly detailed small drawings that clearly suggest the artist to emerge once Burne-Jones had decided that was the direction he wanted to travel. We also see his earliest exhibited works, including 'Phyllis and Demophoon' which caused outrage when it was exhibited due to the frontal nude showing his genitals. Burne-Jones stuck to his vision and refused to paint over the genitals. The Pre-Rapaelites are such an established collective of artists, generally monied and privileged, that it's difficult to see them as rebels but, back then, that's what they started off being. They were never really artists starving in garrets but it took them a while to gain the stature they have today.

A painting that really grabbed my attention was 'Love AmongThe Ruins' painted between 1870-73. It's a large painting and is painted in watercolour and gouache on paper. How on earth he got watercolour to work like that is beyond me, and to think it's painted on paper is really quite surprising. Serious artists used oils back then, not watercolour, another sign of his own rebelliousness in using the media he felt comfortable with. The thing that really grabbed me was the perfection in the detail of the thorns on the left of the painting - very realistic and very impressive.

Further into the exhibition we see 'Laus Veneers', the poster for the exhibition, in it's glory, and also 'The Three of Forgiveness' which you can be forgiven for thinking you'd seen before. This is the same composition as 'Phyllis and Demophoon' from a decade earlier, but much bigger and, in this version, the man has a waft of cloth covering the goods. This is the version most people are probably more familiar with and it's a more accomplished painting. It's odd to notice how often the male figures seem to be scared of or dominated by the female figures in Burne-Jones' paintings. There are probably books written about this.

We're then presented with a room full of portraits, some paintings as portraits (such as a lovely painting of his daughter, Margaret) and others feature portraits in other narrative paintings, using his family and friends as models. We then see two series of paintings, firstly ten paintings in his 'Perseus' cycle and then four marvellous paintings (plus linking paintings) in his 'Briar Rose' series (another name for the 'Sleeping Beauty' story). I'm familiar with some of the 'Perseus' paintings but the 'Briar Rose' paintings were new to me and I loved them, their narrative with Burne-Jones choosing which scenes to paint from the story. I need to see these again.

The final room of the exhibition focused on Burne-Jones as a designer, often working with his friend, William Morris. In this room we are presented with tapestries, stained glass and a piano. Yes, a painted piano. The lid of the piano was painted on both sides and it stands in pride of place in the middle of the room for a 360 degree view. It's this aspect of the late Victorians that I quite like - a piano is for making music but why can't it also look pretty and colourful? Painting and design doesn't just belong on walls in frames, it can also enliven everyday objects like plates and curtains and, in this case, a piano.

We then move on to tapestries designed by Burne-Jones and produced by Morris's workshop, including the large 'Holy Grail Tapestries' including Sir Galahad being given a vision of the Grail. This was designed to hang high up in a room and has a section missing where a doorway was in the room it was designed for. We're looking uo at Sir Galahad on his knees before three angels with their glorious red-toned wings. That's when I noticed the ground in the tapestries, covered with grass and flowers, something repeated in the final tapestry in the exhibition.

The 'Adoration of the Magi' is another large tapestry with life-sized figures showing the three kings with their gifts for the new king they've been seeking. All have removed their crowns, with the lead Magi placing his on the ground beneath the hovering angel. Look at the detail of the ground, the grass and flowers. This made me think of another artist who was genuinely before Raphael - Fra Angelico - whose paintings include many flowers rather than bare earth. It's a lovely design and tapestry and deserves to be seen. I wonder where the original drawings are?

This exhibition is a must-see. For too long the Pre-Rapaelites have been lumped together as a group and movement and it's so refreshing to see the focus shift to one of their members rather than try to share the spotlight out amongst them all. I'll be going back for another viewing.