Frederick Leighton works. Fascinating sentimentalism and light eroticism from Lord Frederic Leighton (although he only held this title for one day)

Frederick Leighton (1830–1896), English artist and sculptor.
Born December 3, 1830 in Scarborough (Yorkshire).

His father was a doctor, and his grandfather, Sir James Leighton, was the court physician of the Russian Emperor Alexander I.

As a child, Frederic Leighton had to travel a lot around Europe. Leighton began studying painting at the age of ten in Rome and later in London, Dresden and Florence. Frederic Leighton lived and worked in the era of Queen Victoria. In 1855 he exhibited his works for the first time at the Royal Academy of Arts and received an award for the painting, which was later acquired by Queen Victoria.

In 1860 the artist settled in London. Leighton often drew on mythology and history in his work, and his support of classicism earned him a high reputation in England. In 1868, Frederic Leighton became an academician of the Royal Academy of Arts, and in 1878 - its president. In 1878 he received the nobility, and in 1895 - the title of baron.
The day before his death in 1896, the painter was granted the title of Lord. Frederic Leighton became the first English artist to receive this honor.
Leighton painted mainly on subjects from ancient literature and stories with nude images female figures. Layton often introduced sentimental details into his compositions. It was this feature of his works that became one of the reasons for the artist’s popularity.

Among the most famous paintings Layton - recognized masterpiece"Burning June", 1895; also "The Bride of Syracuse", 1866; "Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon", 1869; "Summer Moon", 1872; "The Bathing of Psyche", 1890.

"The Feigned Death of Juliet" 1856-1858

"Golden time" 1864

"The Death of Brunelleschi" 1852

"Garden of the Hesperides" 1892 Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside

"Perseus on Pegasus rushes to save Andromeda" 1896 Leicestershire Museum, England

"Captured Andromache" from 1886-1888

"Daedalus and Icarus" 1869 Private collection

"The Fisherman and the Siren" 1856-1858 Private collection

"Mrs. Ellinor Guthrie"

"Orpheus and Eurydice" 1864 Private collection

"The Bride of Syracuse" 1866

"The Daphnephoria" 1874-1876

"Winding the Skein" ca. 1878

"Nausicaa" 1879

"Andromeda and Perseus" 1891

"Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon" 1868-1869

The painting "Flaming June" was painted by Leighton towards the end of his life, in 1895. It has nothing to do with mythological or biblical themes. Frederic Leighton wrote it just for pleasure, managing to capture the charm of a June day and beautiful woman. Actress Dorothy Denis posed for the artist as a model. She is also depicted in the artist’s paintings “The Bathing of Psyche”, “Phoebus” and others.

"Burning June" 1895 Municipal Museum, Ponce, Puerto Rico

"Greek Girls Picking up Pebbles" 1879

"Idyll" approx. 1880-81

"Cymon and Iphigenia" 1884

Frederic Leighton was one of the most outstanding people Victorian era. Just how outstanding is evidenced by the fact that he is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral next to Sir Christopher Wren himself.

The famous artist came from a family of famous doctors. His grandfather Sir James Boniface Leighton served the Russian Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I. Service at the Russian Imperial Court contributed to financial well-being James Leighton, and after his death the profitable vacancy was inherited by his son Frederick Septimus.

However, quite soon he resigned. According to one version, due to progressive deafness. On the other hand, due to the poor health of the wife. Be that as it may, the family left Russia and went on a journey through Europe, which lasted for 20 years.

Wanderings around Europe and the first glimpses of talent

First there was Paris, then Germany, then Italy, where would we be without her. Paradoxical but true: being one of the outstanding English painters of all time and certainly the most outstanding artist of the Victorian era, Leighton grew up and remained under strong Italian influence all his life.

Young Leighton was a born linguist and soon spoke French, German and Italian fluently. In 1842 he became a student at the Berlin Academy of Arts. He was only 12 years old then. I had to lie about my age to get in.

Then - new moves and new schools and teachers. However, Leighton Sr. did not share his son’s interests and passions and did not encourage his success in art. In a letter of 1879, the famous painter admitted:

My parents gave me every opportunity to learn to draw, but they strongly disapproved of my idea of ​​becoming an artist unless I became famous.”

Perhaps this to some extent explains his manic persistence in work. On the other hand, Leighton himself grew up to be sensitive to the work and problems of young artists, and often provided them with financial support from his own pocket.

In 1851, the Leighton family finally returned to their historical homeland. However, by that time, 21-year-old Frederick, already financially independent, chose to move to Italy again. There he met Adelaide Sartoris, an attractive and sophisticated elderly lady who became his favorite great friend and mentor, as well as Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who became his friends for the rest of his life. Thanks to these acquaintances, Leighton entered wide artistic circles, where William Thackeray and George Sand hung out, among others.

At the same time, he began work on the famous Madonna of Cimabue. It was thanks to her that he attracted the attention of the public interested in art. In addition, this picture demonstrated many of distinctive features artist, which he perfected throughout his life: it is meticulously planned, masterfully written, demonstrates great talent in the art of composition and is very static.

This picturesque panel - its length exceeds 5 meters - was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1855, where Prince Albert liked it. He mentioned it in a conversation with Queen Victoria, and she bought it for her beloved husband for 600 guineas - a fortune at that time. Not a bad start for a budding artist.

However, Leighton himself was not very happy about the fact that the queen acquired his work, fearing that this might be followed by a negative reaction from critics. And he turned out to be absolutely right. IN next year his works, presented at an exhibition at the Academy of Arts, were torn to smithereens by the art press, and for several years he was not able to repeat his initial success.

“And he draws too”

It is curious that Leighton himself did not consider himself a great artist and said:

Thank God I was never talented at anything.”

Here he was clearly being modest. He was not only an extremely hardworking and talented painter, but also a sculptor, a polyglot, fluent in at least 5 languages, an excellent pianist and singer, and a socialite with impeccable manners. In general, Layton was so multifaceted personality and was so successful in everything he undertook that he almost gave the impression of a man in whose life painting was nothing more than an accidental achievement.

And he draws too,” as one of his fellow craftsmen noted.

However, under externally A successful and self-confident person hid a rather timid and doubtful nature. Layton was a very lonely man. His friend the Prince of Wales described him as "extremely sensitive". Being public person, almost constantly in the spotlight, Leighton remained a closely guarded secret. An eternal bachelor who left no diaries and very sparingly mentioned the details of his personal life in correspondence, he still remains the subject of many disputes.

His favorite model and muse was Ada Alice Pullen, a Cockney girl who tried to earn a living for herself and her younger sisters by posing for artists. Their acquaintance took place in the early 1880s. Layton had the warmest feelings for Dorothy Dean (the stage name of Ada Pullen). She posed for him for many of his paintings. last decade his life, including Flaming June. Dorothy dreamed of making a career as an actress, and Layton made a lot of efforts to contribute to her success, however, in vain. Bernard Shaw knew the artist and his favorite model and, according to rumors, they served as the prototypes for Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle in his play Pygmalion.

Tireless traveler

In the early 1890s, Leighton's health began to gradually deteriorate. In all honesty, he spent his entire adult life working tirelessly, leading a stormy social life and traveling tirelessly, so that retribution was inevitable.

At the beginning of 1895, doctors diagnosed angina pectoris. They recommended him a relaxing holiday somewhere in warm regions. Layton, unfortunately, was a chronically hyperactive person who simply did not know how to lead a different lifestyle. In the summer of that year, he returned to London, where he was expected to serve as president of the Academy of Arts - a post he was elected to in 1878 and held for a record 18 years. And at the beginning of autumn I went on a trip again.

In addition to regular trips to Europe, especially Italy, where he tried to visit every year, Layton also visited North Africa and the Middle East. His first non-European trip took place in 1857, when he visited Algeria. By his own admission, this trip made a strong impression on him and it was then that his deep love for the East arose.

In 1868, he visited Egypt and the Ottoman ruler of the then Egyptian state himself, at a personal request for assistance from the artist of Queen Victoria's son Albert Edward (the future King Edward VII), lent him his steamship to travel along the Nile. Just how strong Leighton's passion for travel was is evidenced by his letter to his sister Augusta, written in 1893:

I made a grand tour of Germany - 30 cities in 30 days."

Being unbound by family obligations, he could travel almost every year, going far and long. One of his main activities during these trips was creating sketches from life.

This is the most non-committal vacation that I can afford, and besides, it perfectly brightens up my leisure time,” he wrote.

The other was collecting. In addition, travel was also an important part of Leighton's self-education.

Heritage

On January 1, 1896, Sir Frederick Leighton was granted the title of baron. By the way, he is the only English artist to receive this honor. The letter of complaint itself is dated January 24, and on the afternoon of January 25, now Lord Leighton died in his home after several days of such severe suffering that doctors were forced to resort to the use of morphine.

The news of Lord Leighton's death was conveyed in a telegram on behalf of the leadership of the Academy of Arts to Queen Victoria. Her Majesty telegraphed her condolences to the sisters of the late artist.

According to the will he left, 10,000 pounds sterling was awarded to the Royal Academy of Arts, which he remembered on his deathbed. To fulfill the will of the deceased, his sisters were forced to sell almost all of his luxurious collections of ceramics, textiles and other things collected during his Mediterranean and Eastern travels. The sale took place at Christie's and took 9 days. Two years after the master's death, his house in Kensington became a museum in his memory.

Despite the fact that at the time of his death Layton was something of a national institute, after his death, his name and reputation quickly fell into oblivion, and his works became an object of ridicule. And almost 70 years had to pass before his work returned to fashion again.

Frederick Leighton was born on December 3, 1830 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His father, Edward Leighton, taught medicine, and his grandfather was the court physician of the Russian Emperor Alexander I.

Layton began painting at age nine while recovering from scarlet fever. In 1842, he (adding several years to himself) entered the Berlin Academy of Arts. Three years later he was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.

In 1850, he and his family returned to Frankfurt and were able to complete their studies. In Germany, Leighton began working on his first large-scale canvases (subjects taken from the life scenes of the Italian painter Cimabue, who lived in the second half of the 13th century). Such a choice was typical for an artist brought up in the traditions of the classical school.

In order to better understand the work of the great Italian painters, Leighton in 1852 took the first independent (single) trip in his life. In November of the same year, he was already in Rome, where he plunged headlong into a whirlwind of secular pleasures. Layton's leader in his adventures was Adelaide Sartoris, a famous opera singer.

The Adelaide Sartoris Salon opened the opportunity for the young painter to meet many wonderful people of his time, including William Thackeray. He developed especially close friendly relations with the “poetic” Browning family, as well as with the leading French academic painters of the time, J. L. Jerome and A. V. Bouguereau. Subsequently, Layton created a series of illustrations for Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem, and after her death, he designed the headstone for her grave.

1853-1855_Procession with Madonna Cimabue (Cimabue's Madonna Carried in Procession)_231.8 x 520.7_h., m._Britain, Royal Collection_detail

In 1855, he completed work on his Madonna Cimabue and sent it to London for the exhibition of the Royal Academy. The painting was a huge success and was purchased by Queen Victoria for 600 guineas. The artist was talked about in aristocratic circles in England.

In 1855, Leighton also visited the World Exhibition in Paris and remained in the city for the next three years (with interruptions), where he improved his skills. In 1857 he travels to Algeria. This trip began his passion for oriental culture, the motifs of which the artist later often used in his paintings. Subsequently, the master visited Syria, Egypt and Turkey.

In 1859, Leighton was already in London, the Prince of Wales acquired his painting in the same year, after which the heir to the throne became not only the further patron of the painter, but also his true friend. In 1859, the artist joined the 20th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps, better known as the "Artists' Rifle Corps" and took part in the most Active participation in the life of your unit. In 1880, Layton was promoted to the rank of colonel.

Already in the early 1860s his annual income was about 4,000 pounds sterling. In 1864, Leighton's position was further strengthened - he became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. By this year, a luxurious mansion with a workshop was built for the artist in Kensington, on Holland Park Road in the capital of Britain. And in 1869, Layton was appointed inspector art schools at the Royal Academy. The largest work created by the artist this year was two frescoes “based on industrial motifs.”

The year 1878 brought new honors and responsibilities to Layton. He was elected president of the Royal Academy and awarded the French Legion of Honor. Then he was assigned noble title. In 1880, the Italian government invited the master to send his self-portrait for a unique collection of self-portraits famous painters, which is kept in the Uffizi Gallery. And in 1896, just before his death, Leighton was the first British artist to be awarded the title of baron.

Leighton died on January 25, 1896. The coffin with his body was exhibited at the Royal Academy, and on February 3 the artist was buried with full civil honors in London's St. Paul's Cathedral.

1856-1858_The feigned death of Juliet_113.6 x 175.2_h., m._Adelaide, Art Gallery South Australia

1856-1858_The Fisherman and the Syren_66.3 x 48.7_h., m._Private collection

1858-1859_Pavonia_53 x 41.5_h., m._Private collection

1860 (ok)_Portrait of May Sartoris_152.1 x 90.2_h., m._Fort Worth, Art Gallery Kimbella

1863 (ok)_Eucharis - Girl with a Basket of Fruit (Eucharis A Girl with a Basket of Fruit)_83.8 x 57.8_h.,m._Private collection

1864-1865_Portrait of Mrs. James Guthrie_210.8 x 138.4_h., m._New Haven, Yale Center for British Art

1864_Orpheus and Eurydyce_127 x 109.2_х., m._London, Leighton House Museum

1865 (ca.)_Mother and Child_48 x 82_h., m._Blackburn, Museum and Art Gallery

1866_Greek Girls Picking up Pebbles by the Sea_84 x 129.4_h., m._Private collection

1867-1868_Venus Disrobing for the Bath_203 x 91_h.,m._Private collection

1868 (approx.)_Actaea, the Nymph of the Shore_57.2 x 102.3_h., m._Ottawa, National Gallery

1877 (ca)_Music Lesson_92.8 x 118.1_h., m._London, Guildhall Art Gallery

1890 (ca.)_The Tragic Poetess_x., m._Private collection 1890s_Faticida (or Fauna) (Faticida)_152.5 x 109_х., m._Liverpool, Lady Lever Art Gallery 1891-1892_And the sea gave up the dead who were in it ( And the sea ​​gave up the dead which were in it)228.6 x 228.6_London, Tate Museum 1891_Perseus and Andromeda_235 x 129.2_х., m._Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery 1891_Perseus and Andromeda_235 x 129.2_х., m._Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery_detail 1892 (ca)_The Garden of the Hesperides_169 x 169_х., m._Liverpool, Lady Lever Art Gallery 1891 (ca)_Return of Persephone_203.2 x 152.4_х.,м._Leeds Museum and Art Gallery 1895 (approx.)_Flaming June_120.6 x 120.7_h., m._Puerto Rico, Ponce Museum 1895-1896_Perseus on Pegasus Hastening to the Rescue of Andromeda_184.2 x 184.2_h.,m._Leicesetershire Museums Portrait of Mrs. Augusta Frederica Annie Magniac_112 x 187_х., m._Private collection Antigone_61 x 50.8_х., m._Private collection Bacchante (Bacchante)_128.5 x 95.3_h., m._Private collection The Interior of St Marks Basilica, Venice_30 x 48_х.,м._Private collection Leandra_33 x 24.5_h., m._Private collection Miss Dene_61 x 51_h., m._Private collection Nicandra_27 x 22_h., m._Private collection Pan (Pan)_153.6 x 62.2_h., m._Private collection Portrait of a Girl (A Girl)_x., oil_Private collection

Frederic Leighton was an English painter and sculptor, an outstanding representative of academic painting of the Victorian era. His favorite themes were mythology and history. He became the first English artist to be given the title of Lord.
Leighton Frederick was born on December 3, 1830 in Scarborough (Yorkshire). His father was a doctor, and his grandfather, Sir James Leighton, was the court physician of the Russian Emperor Alexander I.
As a child, Frederic Leighton had to travel a lot around Europe. Leighton began studying painting at the age of ten in Rome and later in London, Dresden and Florence. Frederic Leighton lived and worked in the era of Queen Victoria. In 1855 he exhibited his works for the first time at the Royal Academy of Arts and received an award for the painting, which was later acquired by Queen Victoria. In 1860 the artist settled in London. Leighton often drew on mythology and history in his work, and his support of classicism earned him a high reputation in England. In 1868, Frederic Leighton became an academician of the Royal Academy of Arts, and in 1878 - its president. In 1878 he received the nobility, and in 1895 - the title of baron. The day before his death in 1896, the painter was granted the title of Lord. Frederic Leighton became the first English artist to receive this honor. Leighton painted mainly on subjects from ancient literature and history with images of naked female figures. Layton often introduced sentimental details into his compositions. It was this feature of his works that became one of the reasons for the artist’s popularity. Among Leighton's most famous paintings are the acclaimed masterpiece Burning June, 1895; also "The Bride of Syracuse", 1866; "Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon", 1869; "Summer Moon", 1872; "Psyche Bathing", 1890. The painting "Flaming June" was painted by Leighton at the end of his life, in 1895. It has nothing to do with mythological or biblical themes. Frederic Leighton wrote it just for pleasure, managing to capture the charm of a June day and a beautiful woman. Actress Dorothy Denis posed for the artist as a model. She is also depicted in the artist’s paintings “The Bathing of Psyche”, “Phoebus” and others. Leighton died on January 25, 1896 in London.

"Garden of the Hesperides" 1892

Actea, nymph of the shore
1868

Idyll
1881

Syracuse bride.

Young Greek girls playing ball
1889

Book reading. 1877

Reconciliation of Montagues and Capulets over the corpses of Romeo and Juliet
1853-55: Agnes Scott College at Decatur, Georgia

Burning June (c. 1895), Museum of Art, Ponce
Layton wrote the famous "Burning June" shortly before his death. According to him, the idea for the painting came to him when he saw a model (Dorothy Dean) falling asleep in his studio. “I was struck by the flexibility and pliability of the tired girl’s figure,” said the artist, “and I decided to depict her.” By that time, Layton had already depicted sleeping girls more than once. And the theme of sleep itself was extremely popular in Victorian era. Perhaps not a single painter of that time could resist the temptation to paint a “beautiful” dream of a young woman. Layton, of course, knew this, and carefully worked out the composition, trying to ensure that his painting did not look like hundreds of other “sleepy paintings”. While working on Burning June, he created many sketches, looking for desired position the model's body and the most expressive format of the painting. The master brought the figure of the sleeping girl almost close to the viewer and enclosed her within the framework of a “close,” hermetic space, filled with summer warmth and permeated with mystery.

Orpheus and Eurydice, 1864
Private collection

The painting "Mother and Child", shown by Leighton at the exhibition in 1865, also has a second title: "Cherry".
Fisherman and Siren, 1856-1858
Private collection

"Pavonia", purchased from Leighton by the Prince of Wales.

Mrs James Guthrie. 1866

The Music Lesson (1877), Guildhall Art Gallery, London

In the second half of the 19th century, a fashion for “oriental” paintings arose in Europe. The demand for everything “oriental” has grown rapidly. The artists, however, did not strive for ethnographic accuracy when painting oriental scenes. Exceptions to this rule were rare (for example, Delacroix). Usually painters depicted eastern world not as he really was, but as the Europeans wanted to see him. Leighton called paintings of this kind “outright hack work.” However, this attitude did not prevent him from writing in the same vein. "Frank hack" sold well, which allowed the artist to recoup the costs of traveling around the Middle East. “The Music Lesson,” however, can hardly be considered a hack work, although it can be called a costume rather than an oriental scene. The oriental dresses worn by the models here were apparently purchased by Leighton in 1873 in Damascus. Recalling that trip, missionary William Wright, who accompanied Layton, wrote: “We visited several shops that sold expensive fabrics and oriental dresses. That day Layton returned to the hotel with a heap of suits embroidered with silver and gold.” The little red-haired girl we see in the painting is Copy Gilchrist, a young model who posed for many artists and photographers (including Lewis Carroll). Connie later became a music hall performer, and in 1892 she married the Earl of Orkney and left the stage forever.

Blonde. 1879

Girl in green

Gulnihal~1886: Private collection

May Sartoris
1860: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

Portrait of a Lady

Songs without words
~1861.Private collection

Artist on honeymoon
1864: Museum of Fine Arts at Boston

Union
~1882: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Desdemona

Bathing Psyche London Tate Gallery.
Sensual, with delicate porcelain skin, the goddess admires her reflection before entering the bath. Warm shades yellow, white and flesh colors create a feeling of calm, while the Ionic column in the background and the elongated shape of the canvas emphasize the slenderness of the body. The strokes, invisible to the eye, are as smooth and transparent as the surface of water.

Electra at the tomb of Agamemnon.

Frederic Leighton- the first baron of the Royal Academy of Arts in Great Britain, a famous English artist and sculptor who worked in the second half of the 19th century. For his labors he was deeply revered by Queen Victoria of England and by her decree he was awarded the title of Lord. True, the artist had to live in this status for only one day... But his magnificent creations have been exciting the minds and making the hearts of viewers tremble for the second century.

Frederick Leighton (1830–1896) was born in 1830 in Yorkshire, Great Britain, into the family of a hereditary doctor. His grandfather, Sir James Leighton, was court physician under two Russian emperors, Alexander I and Nicholas I. Service at the Russian court allowed James Leighton to accumulate a considerable fortune, which after his death was inherited by his son, Frederick's father. And the artist’s elder sister, Alexandra Leighton, was the goddaughter of the Russian Empress Alexandra.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/00-Frederik_Leyton-0007.jpg" alt=" Self-portrait. (1880).

Frederic Leighton had the opportunity to live and work during the reign of Queen Victoria and, when he was twenty-five, the young artist exhibited his works for the first time at the Royal Academy of Arts and received an award for one of the paintings, which was acquired by the queen a little later.

At the beginning of its creative career Leighton painted canvases on biblical, historical and mythological themes, which brought him fame and the title of academician of the Royal Academy of Arts, and at the age of 38 Frederick was already its president. At the same time, he was granted nobility, and at sixty-five, the title of baron.

The day before his death in 1896, the artist was awarded the title of Lord. But unfortunately, for only one day he had the honor of wearing this title, which was awarded to an artist for the first time in British history. His patent bears the date January 24, and on the afternoon of Saturday, January 25, he died at his estate, exhausted from severe pain and suffering. Last days his pain was so painful that doctors were forced to use morphine.

The creative heritage of the painter

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/00-Frederik_Leyton-00001.jpg" alt=" “The Bride of Syracuse.” Fragment. (1866). Author: Leighton Frederick." title=""The Bride of Syracuse" Fragment. (1866).

Many works were created by the painter, touching on the subjects of world literature, ancient greek myths And historical events. As a rule, these works are very large in size and look very pompous. But Leighton also has amazing sentimental creations, imbued with sensuality and tenderness.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/00-Frederik_Leyton-0019.jpg" alt=""The Fisherman and the Siren."

In 1858, Leighton completed work on the canvas “The Fisherman and the Siren,” which vividly reflected the theme femme fatales, which was popular among English painters of the nineteenth century. Also, it should be noted the eroticism of this creation, where Siren, with a beautiful young body, looks very seductive.

Burning June" was painted by a mature artist a year before his death. It has nothing to do with mythological or biblical themes. Frederic Leighton wrote it just for pleasure, being able to capture the charm of a June day and the bliss of a beautiful woman. The actress posed for the artist as a model Dorothy Denis She was also the model for some of the artist’s other works.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/00-Frederik_Leyton-0011.jpg" alt=" “Idyll”.

https://static.kulturologia.ru/files/u21941/00-Frederik_Leyton-0017.jpg" alt=""Young spouses."