Angel Playing on Bells 

Edward Burne-Jones created this work, Angel Playing on Bells, using watercolor and graphite. The artwork captivates with its circular composition, featuring an angel rendered in muted earth tones. The figure is set against a barely-there grid, which adds a sense of underlying structure. Notice how Burne-Jones used line and form. The angel, with its flowing robes and delicate wings, is depicted in a Pre-Raphaelite style—emphasizing beauty and romanticism. The incompleteness of the drawing reveals the artist’s process. The partially sketched bells suggest a world in formation, mirroring the ethereal quality of the angel itself. This technique reflects the Symbolist movement's desire to represent ideas and emotions through suggestion. The semiotic structure of the angel—a messenger, a divine being—playing instruments of harmony, evokes themes of spiritual communication and artistic inspiration. The circular frame focuses our gaze, yet the unfinished state suggests an invitation for viewers to complete the image in their minds. The structure destabilizes the sense of fixed artistic vision and emphasizes the dynamic between creator and perceiver.