In the painting, Wheel of Fortune by Edward Burne-Jones who do you think the characters represent?

Question

This is the painting

http://i37.tinypic.com/244ru45.jpg

It's goddess Fortuna on the left, and (in order) a slave, a king and a poet.

Why do you think they're in that order?

What is the artist trying to say?

Answer 1

The concept behind the wheel of fortune means that your fate is in the hands of Fortuna as she spins the wheel... one day you're a King, the next you're a Slave... one day you're deeply in love (the Poet being Love), the next day you are forsaken... etc. The characters in the painting are all aspects of our selves - you see they are positioned on the wheel with the slave on top - but the next time Fortuna spins the wheel, everything changes again. They appear hopeless - because they are not in control of their own fate.

Read the lyrics to Carmina Burana - you'd recognize the tune I'm sure - it's all about Fortuna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Bur...