The Lord Leighton | |
|---|---|
 Frederic Leighton,Self-portrait, 1880 | |
| Born | Frederic Leighton (1830-12-03)3 December 1830 Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 25 January 1896(1896-01-25) (aged 65) Kensington, London, England |
| Education | |
| Known for | Painting and sculpture |
| Notable work | Flaming June |
| Movement | Academicism,Pre-Raphaelite and BritishAestheticism |
| Awards | |
| Signature | |
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Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton,PRA (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known asSir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a BritishVictorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical,biblical, andclassical subject matter in anacademic style. His paintings were enormously popular and expensive, during his lifetime, but fell out of critical favour for many decades in the early 20th century.[citation needed]
Leighton was the bearer of the shortest-livedpeerage in history; after only one day, his hereditary peerage became extinct upon his death.[1]
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Leighton was born inScarborough to Augusta Susan and Dr. Frederic Septimus Leighton (1799–1892), a medical doctor. Leighton's grandfather, Sir James Boniface Leighton (1769–1843), had been the primary physician to two Russian tsars—Alexander I andNicholas I—and their families, and amassed a fortune while in their service.[2] Leighton's career was always cushioned by this family wealth, with his father paying him an allowance throughout his life.[3] He had two sisters; one of them,Alexandra, wasRobert Browning's biographer.[4] He was educated atUniversity College School, London. He then received his artistic training on the European continent, first fromEduard von Steinle and then fromGiovanni Costa. At age 17, in the summer of 1847, he met the philosopherArthur Schopenhauer in Frankfurt and drew his portrait, in graphite and gouache on paper—the only known full-length study of Schopenhauer done from life.[5] When he was 24 he was inFlorence; he studied at theAccademia di Belle Arti, and painted the procession of theCimabue Madonna through the Borgo Allegri. From 1855 to 1859 he lived in Paris, where he metIngres,Delacroix,Corot, andMillet.
Travel was an important part of Leighton's life from childhood. By his late teens, he was living with his family in Frankfurt, Germany and had already visited many of Europe's major cities, including Florence and Rome, places which he would return to on a great many occasions over the next decades. By his late twenties, extended periods had been spent living in Rome and then Paris and Leighton had made his first trip outside Europe, travelling to north Africa in 1857. Once settled in London, he continued to make extensive trips every year until shortly before his death. The countries that Leighton visited on at least one occasion include Austria, Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, The Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, and Turkey.
In 1860, he moved to London, where he associated with thePre-Raphaelites. He designedElizabeth Barrett Browning's tomb forRobert Browning in theEnglish Cemetery, Florence in 1861. In 1864 he became an associate of theRoyal Academy and in 1878 he became its President (1878–96). His 1877 sculpture,Athlete Wrestling with a Python, was considered at its time to inaugurate a renaissance in contemporary British sculpture, referred to as theNew Sculpture. American art criticEarl Shinn claimed at the time that "Except Leighton, there is scarce any one capable of putting up a correct frescoed figure in the archway of the Kensington Museum."[6] His paintings represented Britain at the great1900 Paris Exhibition.
He was the first President of the Committee commissioning theSurvey of London which documented the capital's principal buildings and public art.[7]
Leighton remained a bachelor; rumours of him having an illegitimate child with one of his models, in addition to the supposition that Leighton may have been homosexual, continue to be debated.[8] He certainly enjoyed an intense and romantically tinged relationship with the poetHenry William Greville whom he met in Florence in 1856.[9] The older man showered Leighton in letters, but the romantic affection seems not to have been reciprocated. Enquiry is further hindered by Leighton leaving no diaries, and his letters lack reference to his personal circumstances. No definite primary evidence has yet come to light that effectively dispels the secrecy that Leighton built up around himself, although it is clear that he did court a circle of younger men around his artistic studio.[8]
Leighton wasknighted atWindsor Castle in 1878,[10] and was created abaronet eight years later.[11] He was the first painter to be given apeerage, in the1896 New Year Honours. The patent creating him Baron Leighton ofStretton, in the County of Shropshire, was issued on 24 January 1896;[12] Leighton died the next day ofangina pectoris. On his death hishereditary peerage was extinguished after existing for only a day; this is a record in thepeerage.
His house inHolland Park, London has been turned into a museum, theLeighton House Museum.[13] It contains many of his drawings and paintings, as well as some of his former art collection, including works byOld Masters and his contemporaries, such as a painting dedicated to Leighton bySir John Everett Millais. The house also houses many of Leighton's inspirations, including his collection ofIznik tiles. Its centrepiece is the magnificent Arab Hall, which is featured in issue ten ofCornucopia.[14]Ablue plaque commemorates Leighton at Leighton House Museum.[15]
Leighton was an enthusiastic volunteer soldier, enrolling with the first group to join the 38th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps (later to be known as theArtists Rifles) on 5 October 1860.
His qualities of leadership were immediately identified, and he was promoted to command a Company within a few months. On 6 January 1869Captain Leighton was elected to command the Artists Rifles by a general meeting of the corps. In the same year he was promoted to major and in 1875 tolieutenant colonel. Leighton resigned ascommanding officer in 1883. The painterJames Whistler famously described the then Sir Frederic Leighton, the commanding officer of the Artists Rifles, as the: "Colonel of the Royal Academy and the President of the Artists Rifles – aye, and he paints a little!" At his funeral, on 3 February 1896, his coffin was carried intoSt Paul's Cathedral,[16] past aguard of honour formed by the Artists Rifles.[17]
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| External videos | |
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 Leighton'sAn Athlete Wrestling with a Python,Smarthistory |
| Cultural offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Royal Academy 1878–1896 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Leighton 24–25 January 1896 | Extinct |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of St Mary Abbots) 1886–1896 | Extinct |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
