The Sirens

The Sirens — dangerous hybrid creatures of Greek mythology who lured sailors to destruction with their song — provided Burne-Jones with subject matter that connected his interests in classical mythology, female beauty, and the ambiguity of aesthetic experience. This 1875 canvas at the South African National Gallery is an early version of a subject he returned to in a vast, unfinished late painting of the same subject that occupied him in his final years. The Sirens allowed him to explore the paradox at the heart of his aesthetic: beauty as both transcendence and trap, the artistic ideal as something that removes the perceiver from ordinary life. This theme had obvious personal resonance for an artist who constructed an entire visual world of ideal beauty as an alternative to the industrial Victorian present. The South African location of this canvas reflects the reach of British art collecting through imperial networks.

The Siren figures combine human and avian features that Burne-Jones integrates without the grotesque quality that naturalistic treatment might produce. His characteristic linear precision defines the human portions of the figures while the avian elements are handled decoratively. The coastal setting — rocks, sea, and sky — provides a naturalistic space that contrasts with the mythological figures occupying it. The palette combines the warm flesh tones of the figures with the cool blues and greys of the marine environment.