Impasto: A Digital Museum

 When the Grosvenor Gallery opened its doors in 1877, its first exhibition featured many works by artists that have since catapulted them to freedom. Indeed, Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) contributed numerous works after a hiatus of seven years, in which he did not exhibit at all. Among the works displayed at the inaugural Grosvenor Gallery exhibition was the work below, entitled  Beguiling of Merlin :      Edward Burne-Jones,  The Beguiling of Merlin,  1872-77, oil on canvas, 186 x 111 cm, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, UK    Within a swirl of blossoms of the hawthorn bush, Merlin reclines, his body draped over the limbs of the foliage. His hands dangle, his gaze pleads; he is melancholy and seemingly physically oppressed as he is cursed by Nimue, also known as Vivienne, also known as the Lady of the Lake. She, in stark contrast, towers over Merlin, her gaze and posture strong, while her drapery winds itself, snake-like, around...

  The artist Albert Joseph Moore (1851-1893) was best-known for his pictures of women in colourful fabrics, lounging in resplendent interiors with flowers, pillows, sofas, and coloured objects. Often, the women in his paintings appear to repeat each other. Poses reappear throughout, most famously in three works made in 1875:  Apples, Beads,  and  A Sofa .                                                              Moore,  Apples,  1875, oil on canvas, 29.2 x 50.7 cm, private collection                                               Moore,  Beads ,  1875, oil on canvas, 28.9 x 50.1 cm, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh...