Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton of Stretton (English, 1830–1896), At the Fountain, probably 1891–92. Oil on canvas, 50 1/4 × 37 1/2 in. (127.64 × 95.25 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Layton Art Collection, Inc., Gift of Friends of Layton Art Gallery. L1895.1. Photo: Cleber Bonato.
This statuesque woman, with creamy, smooth skin and draped artistic dress, stands at a fountain. From her clothing, hairstyle, and the marble walls and ceramic vessels around her, the setting appears to be the ancient past. Despite these details, the scene has no meaning or narrative. The painter, Lord Leighton, was famous for his enthusiasm for ancient Greece and for the art movement known in England as Aestheticism. Aestheticism promoted “art-for-art’s sake,” presenting beauty without the moral content so popular with middle-class Victorian society.
Permanent collection label, November 2015. Written by Catherine Sawinski, Assistant Curator of Earlier European Art.
