Lord Leighton

Frederick, Lord Leighton (1830-1896) was one of the most respected artists of his day. He was a leading exponent of what has latterly been described as sentimental classicism, a style that drew together traces of the ancient classical traditions of Greece and Rome, with the moral idealism and emotional content typical of much Victorian art. In Leighton's work the rich, jewel-like colours of the Pre-Raphaelite circle are evident, as are the flowing lines and arabesques of the Symbolist school. These differing influences combine in Leighton's art to produce sensuously coloured, often erotically charged paintings, best characterized by his masterpiece Flaming June.