#museodeponce

Flaming Yal #museodeponce #soycafreyque #yal https://www.instagram.com/p/BqxAx7ej0B8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=oa3izuq5yb0

Went to see Lord Leighton’s lovely lady ‘Flaming June’ at the Frick this week. The Pre-Raphaelites were one of my first great interests in the field of history of art. The ambiguity of this subject matter here and the ruthlessness of the composition (that cannot be a comfortable way to sleep and yet this Mediterranean terrace couldn’t be a more inviting place for a cat nap) for its aesthetic needs is typical of the movement, as is the light referencing of the ancient world in the architecture and garments depicted. The short brushstrokes at the top are so wonderfully accurate for the glint of summer on the sea. And then I am wondering about those Oleanders in the corner, gorgeous but poisonous, perhaps June is une femme fatale non? Or has some garden variety of tuberculosis? Love a bit of Victorian melodrama.