08/08/2026
A staircase, a procession, and a moment suspended in time.
Edward Burne-Jones’ The Golden Stairs (1876–1880) is one of the most celebrated works of the British Aesthetic movement. The painting depicts a procession of women gracefully descending a sweeping staircase, carrying trumpets, violins and other instruments—yet the scene remains almost completely silent.
There is no particular story to be told here. Instead, Burne-Jones creates a world of beauty, rhythm and atmosphere, drawing on the elegance of Renaissance art and the romantic imagination of the Victorian era. The flowing ivory gowns, muted blues and gilded staircase create a dreamlike sense of movement, as though the figures are passing through a world just beyond our own.
It is this celebration of art, architecture and timeless beauty that makes The Golden Stairs such a fitting source of inspiration for De Valencia.
A Victorian Tale, told in a different time.
