06 Works, RELIGIOUS ART - Interpretation the bible, With Footnotes - 114

Edward Coley Burne-Jones

Days of Creation, c. 1876

Six Watercolor, gouache, shell gold, and platinum paint on linen-covered panel prepared with zinc white ground

102.2 x 35.5 cm (40 1/4 x 14 in.)

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum

The five surviving paintings are now in the collection of the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, The fourth day has been lost.

The progressive days of the creation are personified by angels holding spheres in which each day’s act is represented, beginning with the separation of light and darkness and ending with Adam and Eve. As the series advances, each angel joins his successor, and the colors in the panels become warmer and richer as the universe unfolds.

Oscar Wilde: “The picture is divided into six compartments, each representing a day in the Creation of the World, under the symbol of an angel holding a crystal globe, within which is shown the work of a day.” 

Day One

Creation Day 1 (Genesis 1:1-5); God created the heavens and the earth. “The heavens” refers to everything beyond the earth, outer space. The earth is made but not formed in any specific way, although water is present. God then speaks light into existence. He then separates the light from the dark and names the light “day” and the dark “night.” This creative work occurs from evening until morning – one day.

Day Two

Creation Day 2 (Genesis 1:6-8); God creates the sky. The sky forms a barrier between water upon the surface and the moisture in the air. At this point earth would have an atmosphere. This creative work occurs in one day.

Day Three

Creation Day 3 (Genesis 1:9-13), God creates dry land. Continents and islands are above the water. The large bodies of water are named “seas” and the ground is named “land.” God declares that all this is good. 

God creates all plant life both large and small. He creates this life to be self-sustaining; plants have the ability to reproduce. The plants were created in great diversity (many “kinds”). The earth was green and teeming with plant life. God declares that this work is also good. This creative work takes one day.

Day Four

Creation Day 4 (Genesis 1:14-19), God creates all the stars and heavenly bodies. The movement of these will help man track time. Two great heavenly bodies are made in relation to the earth. The first is the sun which is the primary source of light and the moon which reflects the light of the sun. The movement of these bodies will distinguish day from night. This work is also declared to be good by God. This creative work takes one day.

Day Five

Creation Day 5 (Genesis 1:20-23); God creates all life that lives in the water. Any life of any kind that lives in the water is made at this point. God also makes all the birds. All of these creatures are made with the ability to perpetuate their species by reproduction. The creatures made on Day 5 are the first creatures blessed by God. God declares this work good, and it occurs in one day.

Day Six

Creation Day 6 (Genesis 1:24-31); God creates all the creatures that live on dry land. This includes every type of creature not included on previous days and man. God declares this work good.

God makes man, and man is made in the image of God (men and women both bear this image) and is special above all other creatures. To emphasize this, God places man in authority over the earth and over all the other creatures. 

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet ARA (28 August 1833 – 17 June 1898) was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Burne-Jones was closely involved in the rejuvenation of the tradition of stained glass art in Britain. His early paintings show the heavy inspiration of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but by the 1860s Burne-Jones was discovering his own artistic "voice". In 1877, he was persuaded to show eight oil paintings at the Grosvenor Gallery (a new rival to the Royal Academy). These included The Beguiling of Merlin. The timing was right, and he was taken up as a herald and star of the new Aesthetic Movement. More on Edward Coley Burne-Jones

Acknowledgement: Got Questions Ministries

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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