Study of Hill Fairies 

Curator: Gazing at this drawing, “Study of Hill Fairies,” it's all hushed expectation and almost unbearable beauty, like glimpsing something forbidden in a forest glen. Burne-Jones certainly had a way with melancholy and ethereal longing, didn’t he? Editor: It's fascinating how a few simple strokes of pencil and charcoal can conjure such a sense of atmosphere. Look at the visible layering and smudging— the materials themselves are performing the fairies' fading presence. Curator: Exactly! And notice how the figures aren’t sharply defined. They emerge from the shading as though coalescing out of thin air or a half-remembered dream. There's that Pre-Raphaelite dance with myth and the uncanny. I bet it tickled the Victorians in all the right ways. Editor: Though romantic on the surface, drawings like this also showcase Burne-Jones's skill and labor. We don't know who his models were, how long they posed, the conditions of his studio. Understanding the process demystifies that fantasy to some extent. Was this sketch for a larger, more ambitious painting, perhaps? It feels utilitarian to its production. Curator: Oh, I prefer to think it exists for its own sake. It feels so complete. See the way they regard each other, like whispers turning into a visible form. But I agree, these figures probably would have reappeared in an oil painting! The Pre-Raphaelites are always doing that: reusing studies. Editor: The paper's cheap quality juxtaposes starkly with the luxury evoked by his figures. Its material economy highlights a paradox in the production of aesthetic fantasy. It is quite interesting how a piece can hint toward abundance while revealing restraint. Curator: Restraint, perhaps, or just brilliant economy? It reminds us that magic can bloom even from the simplest of materials. I suppose for me, this drawing whispers a promise of something extraordinary lurking just beyond our everyday perception. Editor: Yes, while I appreciate how that sense of enchantment is a feat achieved through Burne-Jones' handling of ordinary material, pencil, paper, a model or two— his art transforms them into this glimpse of some ‘other’ world. It brings the making of art back down to earth.