MURAL DECORATION, SCULPTURE, AND ILLUSTRATION
The drawings of Lord Leighton deserve special consideration. The famous
_Lemon Tree_ was made at Capri in the Spring of 1859; it is work that no
Pre-Raphaelite could have finished more minutely, yet it has nothing
"niggling" in its treatment. In a conversation[10] Lord Leighton is said
to have referred to the many days spent upon the production of this
study--dwelling specially on the difficulty he experienced in finding
again and again each separate leaf in the perspective of the confused
branches, as morning after morning he returned at sunrise to continue
the work. The drawing of each leaf reveals the close observation which
ultimately recorded its particular individuality. You feel that as a
shepherd knows his sheep to call each by its name, so the artist must
have become familiar with every separate leaf and twig before he had
completed his task. The whole is broad and simple, and scarcely suggests
the enormous patience which must have been needed to carry out the
self-imposed toil. Nothing is shirked, nothing is scamped; from the stem
to the outermost leaf, every part in succession reveals equal interest,
and yet the whole is not without that larger quality which brings it
together in a harmonious whole, so that it is as much the study of a
tree as the study of each separate item that composes it.
The _Byzantine Well-head_ is another notable instance of similar labour
devoted to an architectural subject; this was evidently a favourite with
its author; for during his life it hung close by his bed in the simple
chamber of his otherwise sumptuous home, a room devoid of luxury and
almost ascetic in its appointments.[11]
The great mass of studies, on brown paper chiefly, which he had
carefully preserved, were purchased by the Fine Art Society, and some
two hundred and fifty were exhibited at their gallery in December, 1896,
and a selection in facsimile has been published in sumptuous form. In a
prefatory note to the catalogue of these studies Mr. S. Pepys Cockerell
says: "It is seldom that we are privileged to watch at ease the workings
of another's mind, but these drawings, the intimate record of a long
life-time, offer an unusually good opportunity. One might call them the
confessions of an artist; and anyone who wants to know what Leighton was
really like, has only to use his eyes. One thing, at any rate, no one
can fail to see, viz., that he had the qualities which result in
industry. Whatever success he achieved was only gained after desperate
labour. It is curious that while he had the reputation for working with
ease, he considered himself to have no facility for anything, whether
for art, for writing, or for speaking. I recollect his once saying:
'Thank Heaven, I was never clever at anything,' for he believed with Sir
Joshua, that everything is granted to well-deserved labour."
The landscape studies in oil (of which a list almost complete will be
found in Appendix II.), show equal observation and sympathetic
perception of the beauty of colour, as well as of the beauty of
form. The truth of these carefully recorded impressions of scenery was
no less patent than the masterly "selection" which had set itself to
depict all that seemed of value, and escaped at once the photographic
imitation of one school, and the evasion of detail of another. They all
preserve a certain classic repose, without violence to topographical
accuracy, or painter-like intention.
[Illustration: STUDY FOR THE CEILING OF A MUSIC-ROOM]
[Illustration: STUDY FOR THE CEILING OF A MUSIC-ROOM]
[Illustration]
[Illustrations: DECORATION FOR THE CEILING OF A MUSIC-ROOM]
We have had occasion to refer frequently, in passing, to Leighton's
decorative works, but we have purposely deferred any description of
them, preferring to treat them separately. To know how present was his
feeling for decorative effect at all times, it is sufficient to glance
never so casually at his own house, about which we hope presently to say
something,--genuine expression as it is of his Art. Now we wish rather
to touch on his more public performances. Of these, the famous frescoes
which fill large lunettes in the central court at South Kensington, _The
Industrial Arts of War_ and _The Industrial Arts of Peace_, are the best
known, as they are among the most characteristic of all the artist's
productions.
The fresco of _The Arts of War_ is a very complex piece of work. It is
crowded with figures, full of that orderly disorder which one must
expect to find, on the hurried morning of a day of battle, in these
delightfully decorative warriors. "In the centre"--we quote here Mrs.
Lang's description--"is a white marble staircase, leading from the
quadrangle to an archway, beyond which is another courtyard. Seen
through the archway, knights are riding by.... The busy scene in the
courtyard suggests an immediate departure to the seat of war. In the
corner to the right crossbows are being chosen and tested; a man is
kneeling by a pile of swords, and descanting on their various merits to
an undecided customer, while those weapons that he has already disposed
of are having their blades tried and felt. A little way off, to the left
of the archway, some men-at-arms are trying on the armour of a youth who
has still to win his spurs.... The whole is distinguished by the extreme
naturalness and simplicity of all the actions, and by soft, glowing
colours, chiefly dark olive green and splendid saffrons."
In _The Arts of Peace_, its companion, the central portion of the fresco
is devised as the interior of a Greek house, where within a semicircular
alcove we see a number of Greek maidens and older women, delightfully
grouped, mainly occupied in the art of personal adornment. Before this
house is the waterside, with a very decorative boat, confined by a
gracefully-looped chain, whose curve, as it hangs, is very subtly
designed to complete the salient lines of the whole composition. On
either side of this interior we have groups of men, more vigorously
treated,--drawing water, bearing burdens, pushing a boat from land. The
total effect of these finely posed contrasted groups, of the admirably
architectured walls, piers, and pavements, and of the striking
background, as of another hill-crowned Athens, is most complete and
satisfying. The colouring throughout, diversified with extreme art as it
is, is full of that southern radiance, and clear, sunlit glamour, so
often found in the artist's pictures. To realize this fully, South
Kensington must be visited, for word-painting at its best but poorly
reproduces the art that it doubtfully imitates.
[Illustration: FRESCO: THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS OF WAR (1872)]
[Illustration: FRESCO: THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS OF PEACE (1873)]
But these were by no means the first attempts of the artist to
acclimatize the noblest form of mural decoration, which cannot even at
this date be regarded as fully naturalized amongst us. In 1866 he
commenced work on a fresco of _The Wise and Foolish Virgins_, which
forms the altarpiece of the beautiful modern church at Lyndhurst,
erected on the site of the older building commemorated in Charles
Kingsley's ballad. This painting still remains a lasting attraction to
visitors in the New Forest village. In the centre, the Bridegroom, clad
in white, bearing lilies in His left hand, extends His right to the
foremost of the five wise virgins. Angels at each side of the central
figure welcome the one group, and repel the other. On the extreme right
is a kneeling figure, "Ora;" on the left, "Vigila," a figure trimming a
lamp. The scale of the figures is over life-size, and the unfortunate
position of the work, immediately under a large east window, so that the
figures appear standing on the altar, has provoked adverse criticism;
but the painting itself, as a triumphant accomplishment of a peculiarly
difficult undertaking, and a superb scheme of line and colour, has won
favourable comments at all times. It was painted in the medium, a
mixture of copal, wax, resin, and oil, previously employed with success
by Mr. Gambier Parry in his decorations for Ely Cathedral.
It is interesting to read the account of the execution of this work,
which is said to have been carried out chiefly on Saturday afternoons,
the artist catching a mid-day train from town, and working on it from
the moment of his arrival until dusk. Experience of the London and South
Western Railway Company thirty years ago makes one doubt whether leaving
town at mid-day should not be taken as arriving at Lyndhurst Road at
that time, for otherwise it would have been a miracle to accomplish the
task by daylight. It is, however, exhilarating to find that the
sustained enthusiasm of the young artist was equal to the effort
involved in mastering so many obstacles; for the result, despite the
increased attention given to decoration in these later years, may even
now be considered, so far as modern ecclesiastical painting is
concerned, to be without a rival in England.
The beautiful _Cupid with Doves_, is also said to be from a fresco;
whether a genuine painting on the wall itself (after the true fresco
manner) or not, it has the larger qualities peculiar to the method which
distinguishes several other works that were certainly not executed in
this medium,--the latest of Leighton's mural decorations, for example, a
painting of _Phoenicians Bartering with Britons_, which the President
of the Royal Academy in 1895 presented as the first of a series of
panels in the Royal Exchange. Although, as this was painted on canvas,
it cannot be ranked as a legitimate successor in the direct line of the
Lyndhurst and South Kensington frescoes, it is marked by many of the
architectural qualities which distinguish a painting designed to be in
true relation to the planes of its surroundings, and employs a
convention which makes it appear an integral part of the wall surface,
not a mere panel accidentally placed within a frame supplied by the
features of the building itself.
The South Kensington frescoes, as we have before stated, were painted in
1872-3. Some ten years later Sir Frederic collaborated with Sir Edward
(then Mr.) Poynter in the decoration of the dome of St. Paul's. His
share was to have filled eight _medallions_, so called, in the
compartments into which his colleague divided the dome. The design for
one of these, _The Sea gave up the Dead which were in it_, was exhibited
at the Academy of 1892, and is now among the works presented by Mr. Tate
to the National Gallery of British Art. This is another treatment of a
great subject, in which the problem of reconciling the dramatic with
the decorative has been seriously attempted. The dome of St. Paul's, had
it been completed according to this scheme, might have been a worthy if
a somewhat academic presentation of the tremendous visions of the
Apocalypse.
[Illustration: CUPID: FROM A FRESCO]
[Illustration: PHOENICIANS BARTERING WITH BRITONS
PANEL IN THE ROYAL EXCHANGE (1895)]
Certain others of Leighton's decorative works we have already mentioned,
such as the design for a ceiling, now in New York. Not so well known is
his frieze delineating a dance, for an English drawing-room; or the
small frieze with a design of Dolphins, also in England. A scheme in
water-colours for a mural decoration, entitled _The Departure for the
War_, was never carried out; the sketch for it was sold with the
remaining works at Christie's, July, 1896. The single figures in mosaic
of _Cimabue_ and _Pisano_, at the South Kensington Museum, must not be
forgotten.
To the public--or at least that portion which limits its art to the
exhibitions of the Royal Academy--Leighton, as we have seen, made his
_début_ as a sculptor with the group, _An Athlete struggling with a
Python_ (known also as _An Athlete strangling a Python_), which in the
bronze version is now among works purchased under the terms of the
Chantrey bequest in the Tate Gallery. But long before that date he had
successfully essayed plastic art; his first effort being for the
medallion of a monument to Mrs. Browning in the Protestant cemetery at
Florence. Two other monuments, to the memory of Major Sutherland Orr
(his sister's husband), and Lady Charlotte Greville, must also be
mentioned. We have already spoken of _The Athlete_, _The Sluggard_, and
_Needless Alarms_. But it would be unfair to omit mention of many small
works--small, that is to say, in scale, for they are distinguished by
great breadth of handling--which were prepared as auxiliary studies for
his paintings. Visitors to the studio in Holland Park Road, were always
impressed by several of these models, which stood on a large chest in
the bay of a great studio window. Especially noteworthy was a group of
three singing maidens, who figure in _The Daphnephoria_, and another of
the "choragus" for the same picture; for later works, the mounted
Perseus, and Andromeda with the monster, both designed for the picture
of that legend. Others belonging to a slightly earlier period
included--the sleeping Iphigenia, a crouching figure of her attendant,
and a nude figure of Cymon, all, of course, for _Cymon and Iphigenia_.
These models were made to be clad in wet drapery of exquisitely fine
texture, and were prepared only for ten minutes' drawing of the first
idea of the figures; all serious study being made from the draped model,
or the lay figure. Such help as they have rendered must all be referred
to the period before the finished cartoon was ready to be traced on the
canvas. Since Lord Leighton's decease most of these have been
successfully cast in bronze, and are the property of the Royal Academy.
In the studio were also the first sketches in clay for _The Sluggard_,
and also for _The Athlete_, which was not originally intended to be
carried further. Indeed, several people mistook it for a genuine
antique, and admired it accordingly; Dalou, the great French sculptor,
was especially so struck by it, that he advised its author to work out
the idea in full size. The three years' labour devoted to the task, the
failures by the way, and its ultimate triumphant success, both here and
in Paris, are too well known to need recapitulation. A replica was
commissioned for the Copenhagen Gallery, and probably no work of its
accomplished author did more to win him the appreciation of French and
German artists.
[Illustration: BRONZE STATUE: AN ATHLETE STRUGGLING WITH A PYTHON (1877)]
[Illustration: BRONZE STATUE: AN ATHLETE STRUGGLING WITH A PYTHON (1877)]
[Illustration: STUDY IN CLAY FOR "CYMON"]
[Illustration: STUDY IN CLAY FOR "THE SLUGGARD"]
[Illustration: STUDY IN CLAY FOR "PERSEUS"]
[Illustration: STUDY IN CLAY FOR "ANDROMEDA"]
In this brief mention of Lord Leighton's achievements in sculpture, the
medal commemorating the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, a study for which is
reproduced at p. 130, must not be overlooked.
Although to those who have not followed closely the splendid period of
English illustration which may be said to have reached its zenith at the
time when Dalziel's "Bible Gallery" was published, it may be a surprise
to find "Frederic Leighton" figuring as an illustrator, yet the nine
compositions in that book are by no means his sole contribution to the
art of black and white.
For each instalment of "Romola," as it ran through the pages of the
"Cornhill Magazine," the artist contributed a full page drawing, and an
initial letter. The twenty-four full pages were afterwards reprinted in
"The Cornhill Gallery" (Smith and Elder, 1865). These are most notable
works, even when measured by the standard of their contemporaries. The
same magazine contains two other works from his pen, one illustrating a
poem, "The great God Pan," by Mrs. Browning, and another illustrating a
story by Mrs. Sartoris, entitled "A Week in a French Country House."
These, and the nine compositions in the "Bible Gallery" (the pictures
from which have lately been re-issued in a popular form by the Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge) exhaust the list of those which can
be traced. As four of the magnificent designs are reproduced here, it
would be superfluous to describe them; the titles of the five others
are: _Abram and the Angel_, _Eliezer and Rebekah_, _Death of the First
Born_, _The Spies' Escape_, and _Samson at the Mill_.
One of the original drawings on wood is now on view at the South
Kensington Museum, and, by comparison with impressions from the engraved
blocks, we see how small has been the loss in translation, so admirably
has the artist mastered the limitation of the technique that was to
represent his work in another medium. The reproductions here given are
considerably reduced, and necessarily lose something, but they retain
enough to prove that had the artist cared to rest his reputation upon
such works, he might have done so with a light heart, for whenever the
golden period of English illustration is recalled, these comparatively
few drawings will inevitably be recalled with it.
A photographic silver-print from a drawing which forms the frontispiece
to a little book of fairy tales is of hardly sufficient
importance--charming though its original must have been--to be included
among the book illustrations. The drawing, _A Contrast_, reproduced at
p. 72, is undated; the idea it is intended to suggest, a model who once
stood for some youthful god, revisiting the adolescent portrait of
himself when old age has him gripped fast with rheumatism and failing
vigour.
To-day, when one has heard sculptors claim that Lord Leighton's finest
work was in their own craft, one has also heard many illustrators not
merely extol these drawings--notably the Bible subjects--as his
masterpieces, but jealously refuse to consider him entitled to serious
regard as an artist in any other medium. This attitude, so curiously
unlike the usual welcome from experts which awaits an artist who
ventures into fresh mediums for expressing himself, should be put on
record as a unique tribute; the more worthy of attention, because in
each instance it was advanced not wholly as praise, but to some extent
as a reproach on Leighton's painting. No intended compliment could carry
more genuine appreciation than this warm approval from fellow experts in
the special subjects of which they are masters.
[Illustration: CAIN AND ABEL]
[Illustration: MOSES VIEWS THE PROMISED LAND]
[Illustration: SAMSON AND THE LION]
[Illustration: SAMSON CARRYING THE GATES]