John Clifford, Edward Burne-Jones and the Service of Art to Religion

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses John Clifford's essay on the Victorian artist Edward Burne-Jones found in his 1898 monograph Typical Christian Leaders. It demonstrates that the ideas in this essay, which has been overlooked by scholars, are closely connected to those expressed in Clifford's other work such as his The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (1892). Clifford's essay makes an important contribution both to the question of what constitutes ‘Christian Art' and to an understanding of Clifford himself. It therefore deserves more attention than it has received to date.