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| Leighton's contemporaries from whom he drew inspiration (clockwise from upper left): Eugène Delacroix, Ary Scheffer, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Thomas Couture |
"From an artistic point of view I am quite glad to leave Rome, which I, for a beginner, regard as the grave of art. A young man needs before all things the emulation of his contemporaries; this I lack here in the highest degree."¹⁴ Frederic Leighton, April 15, 1855, in a letter to Edward Steinle
It was likely at the suggestion of Frenchman William Adolphe Bouguereau, whom Leighton had met in Rome, that the Englishman moved to Paris in September 1855. Bouguereau, five years Leighton's senior, was already exploring classical themes in his own work, and this may have spurred the young Brit to explore the same subject after his move to France. In any case, it appears that it was through Bouguereau that Leighton made the acquaintance of certain French critics and writers, including Baudelaire and Gautier,¹⁵ who first fostered the idea of "l'art pour l'art," an appealing idea to the passionate Leighton, who would bring with him back to England that same notion of "art for art's sake" and promote it there.
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| Frederic Lord Leighton Pan (1856) 60 X 24½ in. oil on canvas private collection on loan to Leighton House "Among the leading artists in Rome at this time, beside Cornelius, were two French painters, Bouguereau and Gerome. To these, especially Bouguereau, who was a great believer in 'scientific composition,' Leighton was, on his own testimony, largely indebted for his fine sense of form."¹⁶ |
In Paris, Leighton naturally gravitated toward the academically trained artists for his first lessons. He sought out the master of line, Ingres, and went to Ary Scheffer, the master draughtsman. Whether or not he met the romanticist Delacroix is unknown, but Leighton certainly asked mutual friends for an introduction. As for Couture, Leighton admired his color and brushwork, and found students of the Frenchman to ask about their master's technique. But of all the artists in Paris, it was Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury, a painter of historical subjects, whom Leighton went to for the most advice - Leighton considered Robert-Fleury the best French colorist, and felt, from him, he learned much on the subject, and about technique in general.¹⁷
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| Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury Galileo before the Holy Office |
4 comments:
Hi, I started an art blog this year
http://oneyearonepaintingaday.blogspot.com/ and my post of today was a painting by Ary Scheffer. I choose the artists by way of date of birth or death matching the date of the posting. I had never heard of Scheffer before but like his paintings. Then I discover your blog and see that on the same day you've posted something on Scheffer as well. I might check him out. Apparently some of his paintings are in the Museum of Dordrecht. Nice blog. Laurie Lanno, Amsterdam
@laurie Before this research, I had not heard of Ary Scheffer either. Too many artists who were famous in their day are completely forgotten now. :(
Thanks for stopping by; I'll be sure to check out your blog!
The Leighton House is by far the best home studio I've ever seen. He truly painted in every corner of his house, and he decorated with treasures he found in the East, many of which create excellent backgrounds for his works. His studio proper is fantastic with large windows providing northern light of course, and about 10 different easels spread about. It also has a stage for working with models above our at eye level while reclining. His collection of master works and works never sold are impressive, including several renaissance masters. If you would like I could send you several photos that I took there.
I'd love to see the pictures! I know of some of the artists whom Leighton collected, but I don't know which particular works were in his possession. It would be great to see them.
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