The Importance of Venice in the life and work of Frederic, Lord Leighton
Italy, and especially Venice, has always been a source of creativity for Frederic, Lord Leighton. He visited the city on a regular basis from the 1850’s until the year before he died, in 1895. The work, that he produced while on his visits there, shows a great admiration for the architecture, the history, and the atmosphere of the city. In particular, he spent long hours in the Accademia di Belle Arti, known as the Accademia, sketching and seeking inspiration.
Leighton’s frequent visits gave him the opportunity to explore Venice in depth and his sketches weave a trail around the city. It is unusual for him that some of these drawings, produced in Venice, do not lead to the realisation of a finished work but are standalone memories. The subject of one such drawing is identified here as the Palazzo Contarini Corfu. However, many Venice drawings are just extremely detailed studies to be used later, as is most of the time the case with Leighton, in the creation of an oil painting. This is the case of ‘Widow’s Prayer’, which we will explore later.
The architecture of Venice, so specific by its history, style and practicality, was very dear to Leighton. He incorporated the courtyard and decorative exterior of traditional Venetian palaces in the design of the interior of his house in Kensington, London. His love of the city was such that he campaigned actively for its protection and played a central role in preventing the rebuilding of the façade of the Basilica di San Marco.
It becomes quickly obvious, when studying Leighton’s work, that his main purpose for sketching was the preparation of major oil paintings. He usually focused his talent only on what was needed in this context. One can almost feel the tension in this very restricted way of drawing, where freedom is limited by the obsession of the finished work.
But as early as 1853, at 23, Leighton writes from Venice to his father: “Of course, I was obliged to conquer to a certain extent my diversion to anything but finished works, and accordingly I made a considerable number of sketches ‘proprement dits’”. In these reassuring words to his father, maybe echoing a discussion they previously had, Leighton seems to express the fact that the city allows him to step back from his immediate goals and to draw freely.Many of his drawings produced in Venice are, as he says, ‘proprement dits’, or standalone and not specifically directed to a finished work.