Explaining one of VTMB paintings (part 14)
The Music Lesson, oil on canvas (1877) by Fredric Leighton
Sir Fredric Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (Dec 3 1830 - Jan 25 1896) was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman and sculptor born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. He was educated at the University Collage School in London. He designed the tomb for the English Poet Elizabeth Barret Browning in English Cemetery,Florence in 1861. He was the first President of the Commitee commissioning the Suervay of London which was in charge of documenting public works of art and architecture. He was knighted at Windsor in 1878 and made Baronet of Hollow Park Road in the Parish of St. Mary Abbots, Kensington in 1886.
A Victorian painter refers to the distinctive art style of painting in the UK during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Specifically the academic art style coming from mainly the Royal Academy of the Arts with Leighton being one of the most recognized of this style. Focused on Christian, British Royalism and Imperial with an overall optimistic tone and close attention to even the smallest of details. The biggest change was the shift away from the traditional focus on storytelling and moralizing subject matter as the subjects of art. Instead choosing subjects based on aesthetic appeal which contrasted their contemporaries Pre-Raphaelites. [1]
The Architecture depicted in the background of The Music Lesson is based on Leighton study of architecture from his trip to Damascus, Syria in 1873. The black and white stripes of the stone building are a style of Islamic architecture ablaq. In Syria Ablaq is often used to decorate arches of Mosques, palaces and Sufi lodges. The technique of ablaq may have originated from Syria or the Byzantine Empire. One of the first written records on the use of ablaq masonry was found regarding repairs done to the northern wall of the Great Mosque of Damascus in 1109 [2]. The musical instrument that is the center of the lesson is a Baglama (sometime called a saz) which is a type of long necked seven string lute used in both Turkish and Azerbaijani folk music [3]. The choice of architecture and instrument are most likely based on their aesthetic beauty and to give the work a small amount of exotic flare. The two British models depicted in the painting appear in a number of Leighton works. The younger girl is Connie Gilchrist( Jan 23 1865-May 6 1946) who as a child was a rather famous art model, actress and singer that work with a number of other artist including Frank Holl, James McNeil Whistler and author/photogrpher Lewlis Carol (author of Alice in Wonderland). As an adult she married Edmond Walter FitzMaurice, the 7th Earl of Orkney (Orkney is a archipelago in the norther isles of Scotland) making her the Countess of Orkney. [4]
[1]“Frederic Leighton.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Oct. 2023, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Leighton.
[2]“Ablaq.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Oct. 2023, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablaq#:~:text=Ablaq%20(Arabic%3A%20أبلق%3B%20particolored,architecture%20in%20the%20Arab%20world.
[3]“Bağlama.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2023, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba%C4%9Flama.
[4]“Connie Gilchrist, Countess of Orkney.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 July 2023, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Gilchrist,_Countess_of_Orkney#:~:text=Connie%20Gilchrist%20(23%20January%201865,Lewis%20Carroll%20and%20aristocrats%2C%20Lord.
