Although John William Waterhouse is my favorite, Edmund Blair Leighton comes in a close second. Also born in the 1850’s, Leighton’s paintings are much like Waterhouse’s, focusing on medieval and Pre-Raphaelite themes with a few Victorian paintings on the side. Here are a few of my favorites.
This one is called The Courtship and is my favorite out of all his paintings because of the beautiful lighting and the contrast between the masculine and feminine stances.
Leighton did a lot of paintings with couples; this one is entitled The Favour.
This one is called The Lilac. I absolutely love the vibrant lighting in the top left corner and how huge the lilac bush is!
This painting, oddly titled Off, strikes me as very mysterious. The colors are very muted and dull compared to his other paintings, and the fact that the man is walking away with a somewhat dejected manner makes me wonder what has just transpired. Is the woman a coquette? Or perhaps she rejected him because she did not love him. Her face is very stoic and doesn't give a clue as to whether she is sad, annoyed, or proud. My guess from her posture and expression is that she is proud but slightly regretful. What do you think?
Monday, May 10, 2010
Another Great Painter
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3 comments:
I think the only painting I had seen (before now) of Leighton's is "The Accolade." These all seem pretty different, though. I really like the last one. Is that a little bouquet of flowers on the ground by her feet?
Yeah, his Pre-Raphaelite ones are pretty popular. Godspeed is another one of his paintings that is more well-known. Are you talking about the tiny thing behind her ankle or the big clump on the path? I didn't even notice that, I thought they were rocks.
Both, I guess. They do kind of look like rocks in the little picture, but if you click on it to make it bigger you can see the flowers better.
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