![]() It was at this time that Frederic produced his first painting of great note, Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna is Carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence (1853-55). ![]() The new aestheticism which was growing in the mid 1850's promoted beauty above everything, and it was this philosophy that inspired Leighton throughout his career. However, it was a few years later, while living in Paris, that Frederic met the giants of aestheticism, specifically Jean-Francois Millet and Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, that he truly began to find his feet artistically. On his extensive European travels, he met and befriended many prominent people of the day while he was in Rome, he developed a friendship with poets Robert and Elizabeth Browning, writer William Makepiece Thackery and Chopin's famous mistress, George Sands. Leighton is said to have been a very affable man with a relaxed manner, and as such he easily and readily "acquired" influential artist friends and acquaintances. The Pre-Raphaelite Fraternity and Other Influences His whole life, Frederic referred to Steinle as his master, acknowledging his great respect for the man and his work. Moreover, even though they only worked together for three years, their friendship lasted until Steinle's death in 1886. It is clear that Leighton was profoundly influenced by von Steinle's style during his time as a student. ![]() Von Steinle was a shining light in the German Nazarene Movement which promoted the true spirituality of Christian art and his own work was romantic and beautiful. However, it was in Munich, under the tutelage of Eduard von Steinle, that Frederic truly began to develop his gifts. Doubtless it is Leighton's early exposure to the sights of Florence, Rome and Paris to name only a few, that informed his later expansive and vibrant works. Frederic's gifts were detected early and by the age of 15 he had studied at several renowned academies of art throughout Europe. He did not consider himself a master or a profound talent. Leighton was very self-effacing about his art work. Golden Hours is therefore not only a masterpiece of aesthetic art, but also a ‘pivotal work’.Thomas Gainsborough Paintings The Training of a Master ![]() ‘These ideas coming from France through Leighton and others formed a shift in what British artists were about to do,’ says Brown. New aesthetic impulses liberated art from the straitjacket of narrative and morality - a picture could be an object of beauty and emotion without any ostensible subject. The late 1850s and early 1860s saw a shift in the landscape of British art just as momentous as the advent of Pre-Raphaelitism in the previous decade, with its mantra of ‘truth to nature’. He is the object of desire.īrown goes on to explain how Leighton travelled to Venice in the 1860s and was inspired by the golden light in St Mark’s basilica, and discusses the balance of composition in the painting - ‘light and dark, male and female, and the wonderful billowing fabrics that add to the feeling of emotion’. The intent way in which the woman leans forward, however, suggests that she is devouring him with her eyes. The sexual charge between the couple is palpable, even though the man is looking down at the keyboard. ![]() Peter Brown, a Christie’s specialist in Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art, describes the painting as ‘a love duet’. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |