The Project Gutenberg eBook, Frederic Lord Leighton , by Ernest Rhys
Title: Frederic Lord Leighton
An Illustrated Record of His Life and Work
Author: Ernest Rhys
Release Date: October 15, 2009 [eBook #30262]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FREDERIC LORD LEIGHTON ***
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F. Leighton. pinxt. Swan Electric Engraving Co. Sc.
Winding the Skein
By permission of the Fine Art Society.
Frederic Lord Leighton
Late President of the Royal Academy of Arts
An Illustrated Record of
His Life and Work
By Ernest Rhys
London: George Bell & Sons
1900
First Published, super-royal, 4to, 1895.
Second Edition, revised, colombier 8vo, 1898.
Third Edition, revised, crown 8vo, 1900.
Publishers' Note to Third Edition
The reception given to previous editions of this work encourages the publishers to hope that a re-issue in a smaller form may be appreciated. The present volume is reprinted with a few alterations and corrections from the second edition published in 1898. A chapter on "Lord Leighton's House in 1900," by Mr. S. Pepys Cockerell, has been added.
The publishers take the opportunity to repeat their acknowledgments of assistance most kindly given by numerous owners and admirers of the artist's work. By the gracious consent of H.M. the Queen, the Cimabue in the Buckingham Palace collection, is here reproduced. Especial thanks are also due to Lord Davey, Lord Hillingdon, Lord Rosebery, Mrs. Dyson-Perrins, the late Mr. Alfred Morrison, Sir Bernhard Samuelson, Lady Hallé, Mr. Alex. Henderson, Mr. Francis Reckitts, the late Sir Henry Tate, the Birmingham and Manchester Corporations, and the President and Council of the Royal Academy, who have kindly permitted the reproduction of pictures in their possession. To the late Lord Leighton himself the author and publishers have to acknowledge their indebtedness for a large number of studies and sketches, hitherto unpublished, as well as for his kind co-operation in the preparation of the volume. The author wishes also to record his thanks to Mr. M. H. Spielmann for permission to use his admirable account of the President's method of painting.
By arrangement with the holders of several important copyrights, including Messrs. Thos. Agnew and Sons, P. and D. Colnaghi and Co., H. Graves and Co., Arthur Tooth and Sons, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the proprietors of the Art Journal, the Berlin Photographic Company, and the Fine Art Society (whose courtesies in the matter are duly credited in the list of illustrations), the publishers have been enabled to represent many of the most popular paintings by the artist, and a selection of his famous designs for Dalziel's Bible Gallery.
Contents
PAGE Chapter I. His Early Years 3 II. Year by Year—1855 to 1864 12 III. Year by Year—1864 to 1869 21 IV. Year by Year—1870 to 1878 28 V. Year by Year—1878 to 1896 39 VI. His Method of Painting 54 VII. Mural Decoration, Sculpture, and Illustration 61 VIII. Discourses on Art
List of Illustrations
I. FIGURE SUBJECTS.
PAGE Winding the SkeinBy permission of the Fine Art Society. (Photogravure plate.) Frontispiece Cimabue's Madonna
By the gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen. 10 Golden Hours
By the kind permission of Lord Davey. 21 Helen of Troy
By permission of Messrs. H. Graves and Co. 22 Orpheus and Eurydice
By the kind permission of Francis Reckitts, Esq. 22 Venus Disrobing for the Bath
By the kind permission of Alexander Henderson, Esq. 24 Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon 24 Dædalus and Icarus
By the kind permission of Alexander Henderson, Esq. 26 St. Jerome
By the kind permission of the President and Council of the
Royal Academy of Arts. 26 Hercules Wrestling With Death for the Body Of Alcestis
By the kind permission of Sir Bernhard Samuelson. 30 Summer Moon
By the kind permission of the late Alfred Morrison, Esq., from the
photogravure published by Messrs. P. and D. Colnaghi and Co. 30 The Juggling Girl
By the kind permission of Lord Hillingdon. 32 A Condottiere
By permission of the Corporation of Birmingham.
By permission of the Fine Art Society. 34 Nausicaa 38 Sister's Kiss
By permission of the Fine Art Society. 40 Phryne at Eleusis
By permission of the late Lord Leighton. 42 Day Dreams
By permission of the Fine Art Society. 42 Cymon and Iphigenia
By permission of the Fine Art Society. (Photogravure plate.) 44 The Last Watch of Hero
By permission of the Corporation of Manchester. 46 Greek Girls playing at Ball
By permission of the Berlin Photographic Company. 48 The Bath of Psyche
By permission of the Berlin Photographic Company. 48 Farewell
By permission of Messrs. A. Tooth and Sons. 50 "And the Sea gave up the dead which were in it"
By the kind permission of Sir Henry Tate. 50 The Frigidarium
By permission of Messrs. H. Graves and Co. 50 Rizpah
By permission of Messrs. Cassell and Co. 52 The Bracelet
By permission of Messrs. T. Agnew and Sons. 52 Fatidica
By permission of Messrs. T. Agnew and Sons. 52 A Bacchante
By permission of Messrs. H. Graves and Co. 54 Hit
By permission of the proprietors of the "Art Journal." 54 Egyptian Slinger
By the kind permission of Lord Davey. 112 Elisha and the Shunamite's Son
By the kind permission of Mrs. Dyson-Perrins. 114 "... Serenely Wandering in a trance of sober thought" 128 II. LANDSCAPES, ETC. Garden at Generalife, Granada 28 Mimbar of the Great Mosque at Damascus 28 Fountain in Court at Damascus 132 The Island of Ægina, Pnyx in the Foreground 132 Ruined Mosque, Broussa
By the kind permission of Lady Hillingdon. 36 Portrait of Captain (Sir) Richard Burton 36 Portrait of Signor Costa 40 Portrait of the Lady Sybil Primrose
By the kind permission of Lord Rosebery. 46 IV. STUDIES AND SKETCHES. Two Early Pencil Studies 6 Scheme for a Picture, "The Plague in Florence" 8 Study for a Head—"The Dead Romeo" 14 A Pencil Study 16 A Lemon Tree. (A pencil study) 18 Byzantine Well-Head. (A pencil study) 18 Study for "The Daphnephoria" 34 Study for "Elijah in the Wilderness" 38 Study for "Captive Andromache" (nude) 56 Study for a Figure in "Captive Andromache" 56 Study for "Andromache" 56 Study for "Perseus and Andromeda" 58 Study for a Figure in "The Bath of Psyche" 58 Study for "Solitude" 58 Study for a Figure in "The Return of Persephone" 60 Study for "Persephone" 60 Studies for the Decoration of the Ceiling of a Music Room 62 Cain and Abel { From Dalziel's
"Bible Gallery" Moses Views the Promised Land Samson and the Lion Samson Carrying Off the Gates By permission of Messrs. J. S. Virtue and Co. and the
By the kind permission of Lady Hallé. 76 Study of a Head 78 Study of a Head 80 A Study in Oils. (Head of a girl) 82 V. FRESCOES, WALL PAINTINGS, ETC. Two Friezes—Music, the Dance 44 Decoration for the Ceiling of a Music Room 62 The Industrial Arts of War.
(From the fresco at South Kensington Museum) 64 The Industrial Arts of Peace.
(From the fresco at South Kensington Museum) 64 Cupid. (From a fresco) 66 Phœnicians bartering with Britons.
(Panel in the Royal Exchange) 66 VI. SCULPTURE. An Athlete Struggling with a Python.
(Bronze statue, from two points of view) 68 Study in Clay for "Cymon" 68 Study in Clay for "The Sluggard" 68 Study in Clay for "Perseus" 68 Study in Clay for "Andromeda" 68 Design for Reverse of the Jubilee Medallion (1887) 130 VII. LORD LEIGHTON'S HOUSE. In the Inner Hall.
(From a photograph taken specially by Mr. James Hyatt) 88 In the Arab Hall.
(From a photograph by Messrs. Bedford, Lemere, and Co.) 96 Bookplate of Lord Leighton.
(Designed by R. Anning Bell) 120
With four exceptions all the reproductions are by the Swan Electric Engraving Company.
FREDERIC LORD LEIGHTON, P.R.A.
LIST OF DIGNITIES AND HONOURS CONFERRED
ON FREDERIC LEIGHTON.
Knighted, 1878; created a Baronet, 1886; created Baron Leighton of Stretton,
1896; elected Associate of the Royal Academy, 1864; Royal Academician, 1869;
President of the Royal Academy, 1878; Hon. Mem. Royal Scottish Academy,
and Royal Hibernian Academy, Associate of the Institute of France, President
of the International Jury of Painting, Paris Exhibition, 1878; Hon. Member,
Berlin Academy, 1886; also Member of the Royal Academy of Vienna,
1888, Belgium, 1886, of the Academy of St. Luke, Rome, and the Aca-
demies of Florence (1882), Turin, Genoa, Perugia, and Antwerp (1885);
Hon. D.C.L., Oxford, 1879; Hon. LL.D., Cambridge, 1879; Hon.
LL.D., Edinburgh, 1884; Hon. D.Lit., Dublin, 1892; Hon.
D.C.L., Durham, 1894; Hon. Fellow of Trinity
London, 1876; Lieut.-Colonel of the 20th Middlesex
(Artists') Rifle Volunteers, 1876 to 1883 (resigned);
then Hon. Colonel and holder of the Volunteer
Decoration; Commander of the Legion of
Honour, 1889; Commander of the
Order of Leopold; Knight of the
Prussian Order "pour le
Mérite," and of the
Coburg Order Dem
Verdienste.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST (1881)
Painted for the Uffizi Gallery
FREDERIC LORD LEIGHTON, P.R.A.
AN ILLUSTRATED CHRONICLE
CHAPTER I
His Early Years
To Italy, at whose liberal well-head English Art has so often renewed itself, we turn naturally for an opening to this chronicle of a great English artist's career. Frederic Leighton was the painter of our time who strove hardest to keep alive an Italian ideal of beauty in London; therefore it is in Italy, the Italy of Raphael and Angelo and his favourite Giotteschi, that we must seek the true beginnings of his art.
London made its first acquaintance with him and his painting in 1855, when the picture, Cimabue's Madonna carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence, startled the Royal Academy, and proved that a 'prentice work could be in its way something of a masterpiece. This picture, the work of an unknown young artist of twenty-five, painted chiefly in Rome, showed at once a new force and a new quality, and in its singular feeling for certain of the archaic Italian schools, showed, too, where for the moment the sympathies of the painter really lay. How far the potentiality disclosed in it was developed during the forty years following, how far the ideals in art, which it seemed to declare, were pursued or departed from, the Royal Academy year by year is witness. Here, before we turn to consider the history of those later years, we shall find it interesting to use this first picture as an index to that period of probation, which is so often the most interesting part of an artist's history. In accounting for it, and finding out the determining experiences of the artist's pupilage, we shall account, also, for much that came after. Although Frankfort and Paris play their part, the formative influences of that early period, we shall find, carry us chiefly, and again and again, into Italy.
Frederic Leighton was born on the 3rd of December, 1830, at Scarborough, the son of a medical practitioner. His father, Dr. Frederic Leighton, was also the son of a physician who was knighted for eminence in his profession. Thus we have two generations of medicine and culture in the family; but there is no sign of art, or love for art, before the third. This generation produced three children, all devoted to the graphic arts and to music, of whom the boy, Frederic was the eldest.
A word or two more must be given to his forbears, on grounds of character and heredity, before we pass. Sir James Leighton, the grandfather, was Physician to the Court at St. Petersburg, where he served in succession Alexander the First, and Nicholas, with whom he was on terms of considerable intimacy. His son, Dr. Frederic Leighton, who promised to be a still more brilliant practioner, was educated at Stonyhurst, but after taking his M.D. degree at Edinburgh, just as he was rapidly acquiring the highest professional reputation, contracted a cold that led to a partial deafness. This made it impossible for him to go on practising with safety, and retiring to his study he turned from physical to metaphysical pursuits. In spite of his deafness, as severe an embargo on social reputation as can well be laid, Dr. Leighton is said to have been equally noted among his friends for his keen intellectual quality and his urbanity.
To be the son of his father, then, counted for something in our hero's career. Even in art, which Dr. Leighton did not care for particularly, the boy had very great opportunities. Before he was ten years old, he went abroad with his mother, who was in ill health; and already he had shown such decided signs of the furor pingendi during a chance visit to Mr. Lance's studio in Paris, that it is without surprise that we hear of him in 1840 as taking drawing lessons from Signor F. Meli, at Rome. During these early travels the boy's sketch books were full (we are told) of precociously clever things. The climacteric moment came early in his career. At Florence, in 1844, when he was fourteen, he delivered himself of a sort of boyish ultimatum to his father, who, after taking counsel of Hiram Powers, the American sculptor, wisely gave the boy his wish, and decided to let him be an artist. Powers when asked, "Shall I make him an artist?" exclaimed in no uncertain terms, "Sir, you have no choice in the matter, he is one already;" and on further question, the father being anxious about the boy's possibilities, said, "He may become as eminent as he pleases."
Few art students of our time appear to have encountered more fortunate conditions, on the whole, than did Frederic Leighton in the years immediately following. The Florentine school of fifty years ago, however, was not the best for a beginner. It was full of mannerisms, which a boy of that age was sure to pick up, and exaggerate on his own account. At that time Bezzuoli and Servolini were the great lights and directors of the Academy of the Fine Arts, and they delighted, naturally, in so able and so apt a pupil; that he found it hard to shake off their teaching becomes evident later.
Those who had the good fortune at any time to have heard Lord Leighton describe his early wanderings in Europe, must have been struck by the warmth of his tribute to Johann Eduard Steinle, the Frankfort master, who did more than any other to correct his style, and to decide the whole future bent of his art.
Steinle, whose name is barely known to us in England, was one of that remarkable school of painters, called familiarly "the Nazarenes," because of their religious range of subjects, who were inspired originally by Overbeck and Pfühler. Leighton in recent years described him as "an intensely fervent Catholic;" a man of most striking personality, and of most courtly manners, whose influence upon younger men was fairly magnetic. In the case of this particular pupil, certainly, his intervention was of most powerful effect. Religious in his methods, as well as in his sentiment of art, the florid insincerities and mannerisms of the Florentine Academy, as they were still to be seen in the young Leighton's work, found in him an admirable chastener, but it took many years of painfully hard work, lasting until 1852, to undo the evil wrought by decadent Florence.
Prior to this fortunate intercourse with Steinle, the student had an old acquaintance with Frankfort, which, like Florence, seemed destined to play a great part in his history. Before going to Florence, and deciding on his artistic career, in 1844, he had been sent to school in Frankfort. He returned there from Florence to resume his general education, and on leaving at seventeen, went for a year to the Städtelsches Institut.