The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton Volume I Part 31

[Ill.u.s.tration: "FATHER, I WILL BE GUIDED"

No. 13. "Romola"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE VISIBLE MADONNA"

No. 15. "Romola"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "DANGEROUS COLLEAGUES"

No. 16. "Romola"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "MONNA BRIGIDA"

No. 17. "Romola"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "BUT YOU WILL HELP"

No. 18. "Romola"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "DRIFTING"

No. 20. "Romola"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: "WILL HIS EYES OPEN?"

No. 21. "Romola"]

FOOTNOTES:

[67] "Romeo," "Pan," and "Venus," being then exhibited at the yearly autumn Exhibition at Manchester.

[68] "368. _From Keats' Ode to Pan, in the 'Endymion'_: F.

Leighton.--Flesh painting is the grand test. With the majority of artists the attempt results in a something very much resembling tinted marble. Not so Mr. Leighton. This enchanting creation of his mind glows with the rich warm hues of life; and the sweeping outline which gives such beauty to the female form is preserved with subdued definiteness.

The background is a fine piece of mellow autumnal tinting.

"_The Royal Inst.i.tution._--In the second room will be found one of the very best, if not the best picture in the exhibition, No. 183, 'Reconciliation of the Montagues and Capulets,' by F. Leighton.

Whatever its other merits or faults may be, it tells the sad story clearly and forcibly. The scene is 'the tomb of all the Capulets,' and the moment chosen by the artist is when the heads of the rival houses, standing by the dead bodies of those in whom all their hopes had been centred, agree to lay by their ancient feuds, and clasp their hands in sign of future friendship.

"'_Capulet_--O brother Montague, give me thy hand: This is my daughter's jointure, for no more Can I demand.

_Montague_--But I can give thee more: For I will raise her statue in pure gold: That while Verona by that name is known There shall no figure at such rate be set, As that of true and faithful Juliet.'

In the foreground are the bodies of the lovers, placed on a bier.

Juliet has thrown herself upon the body of Romeo, her hands clasped around his neck, and her cheek touching his. In that position, typical of her undying love, the fatal potion has done its work. Lady Capulet, in a paroxysm of maternal grief, has thrown herself on her knees at the foot of the bier; behind her is the Friar. Opposite the spectator are old Capulet and Montague, their aged forms bowed with grief, in the act of reconciliation. These are the princ.i.p.al figures. The Prince, attendants, &c., fill up, without crowding, the picture. The gloom of the ancient monument is capitally rendered, the colouring is harmonious, and the disposition of the figures careful and dramatic.

The artist has admirably discriminated the characters of the two aged n.o.blemen. Readers of Shakespeare will not need to be reminded of the distinction which the dramatist has made between the two. Montague appears only in the first and last acts, but displays great resolution, accompanied by a n.o.ble moderation, in the brawl commenced by the retainers of each of the houses. The language put into his mouth is n.o.ble and poetical, especially in concluding his account of the black and portentous humour which had overtaken his son.

"'But he, his own affection's counsellor, Is to himself,--I will not say--how true,-- But to himself so secret and so close, So far from sounding and discovery As is the bud, bit with an envious worm, Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air, Or dedicate his beauty to the sun.'

No such language as this is ever given to old Capulet. On the contrary, he is fussy, shallow, and pretentious. Even the Nurse snubs him. In the first act he rushes out frantically calling for his sword, to which Lady Capulet replies--

"'A crutch, a crutch!--why call you for a sword?'

And the Nurse on another occasion says--

"'Go, go, you cot quean, go, Get you to bed; faith you will be sick to-morrow For this night's watching.'

The artist has finely distinguished the two men; there is no mistaking them. On the other hand, if we may 'hint a fall' or two, we should say, that the faces of the lovers are too livid and corpse-like. They are but newly dead, and the artist would have been truer to nature and increased the beauty of his picture if he had allowed some of the beauty of life to linger around them. The att.i.tude of the Friar, too, with elevated arms and appalled look, is not in harmony with the grand composure of his demeanour at all other times, the n.o.ble motives from which he had acted, and that sanct.i.ty of character which induces the Prince to say to him, after his explanatory speech--

"'We still have known thee for a holy man.'

With all drawbacks, however, this is a n.o.ble picture; and if our readers will turn to the scene in the play and refresh their memories before going to the Inst.i.tution, they will, we think, agree with us in ranking it as a successful Shakesperian ill.u.s.tration--high praise, but deserved."

[69] Among the drawings sold by the Fine Art Society in 1897 was a very striking and interesting sketch in water-colour by Steinle. The subject was a peasant confessing to a Cardinal. May be it was the sketch for this picture for which Steinle asked Leighton to help him respecting the cardinal's costume.

[70] Mrs. S. Orr was in India, the Mutiny taking place at that time.