Artwork Information

Initial rough charcoal drawings set this scene by the sea, but after visiting Italy in 1870, Burne-Jones placed the gigantic Car of Love in the winding lanes of Siena. This appears to be the final, fully worked-up drawing on which the unfinished painting, (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) is based. The bound and anguished figures, forced to draw the Car inexorably onward, were bitter reminders of Burne-Jones' love affair with the beautiful Maria Zambaco in 1870, who was famous for her 'glorious red hair and almost phosphorescent white skin'.