Oxford Union murals facts for kids

The unfinished mural painted by Rossetti. Notice the blank wall space.

Rossetti's early design for Sir Lancelot's Vision of the Holy Grail.

The Oxford Union murals are a series of beautiful wall paintings inside the Oxford Union library building. These artworks were created between 1857 and 1859. A group of talented artists known as the Pre-Raphaelites painted them. This group included famous names like Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, and Edward Burne-Jones. The paintings show exciting scenes from the old stories of King Arthur and his knights.

Who Painted These Murals?

The idea for these murals came from John Ruskin, a well-known art critic. The artists were already interested in King Arthur's tales. They had even drawn pictures for a book of poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1857. Besides Rossetti, Morris, and Burne-Jones, several other artists helped. These included Val Prinsep, Arthur Hughes, J. H. Pollen, John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, and a sculptor named Alexander Munro.

A close-up of Jane Burden, who later married William Morris. She is shown in Rossetti's Sir Lancelot's Vision of the Holy Grail.

The murals can be hard to see because of the bright light from the windows.

Challenges of Painting

Painting these murals was quite a challenge. The artists painted directly onto the wall. They did not prepare the walls with plaster or enough underpainting. This meant the paintings started to fade and decay very quickly. John Ruskin even said the artists were "a little bit crazy" and hard to manage. William Morris later had to completely repaint his part of the ceiling.

What the Murals Show

Each artist chose a different scene from the Arthurian legends.

• Rossetti's main painting was Sir Lancelot's Vision of the Holy Grail.
• Burne-Jones painted Nimue brings Sir Peleus to Ettarde after their Quarrel.
• Morris created Sir Palomides' jealousy of Sir Tristram and Iseult. People said his painting was not very good. But the background of leaves and flowers showed his amazing design skills.

A view of the murals inside the Oxford Union Society Library at night.

A Famous Model

A young woman named Jane Burden became a model for some of the paintings. She later married William Morris. Rossetti and Burne-Jones first saw Jane when she was visiting a theatre in Oxford. They were so impressed by her beauty that they asked her to pose for their artwork.

See also

• List of paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
• List of paintings by Edward Burne-Jones