Frederic LEIGHTON
(1849-1917)

Born in Yorkshire (UK) and educated on the continent, Frederic Leighton caught the public's imagination with his spectacular painting of Cimabue's Madonna being carried through the street of Florence. This huge, busy picture was a great success at the 1852 Academy exhibition and was bought by Queen Victoria, making him an artist by Royal Appointment. His popularity was so great that public demand ensured his election to President of the Royal Academy in 1878. Though a classicist, he was heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and Nazarenes. He favoured, biblical and classical themes, set in the Mediterranean and orient, but he exhibited the brightness and depth of colour familiar in Pre-Raphaelite work.