Studies of Costume

Drawing details

Title: Studies of Costume
Date: c.1860
Media: Pencil on tracing paper
Dimensions: 18.0 x 28.0 cm
Location: Royal Academy of Arts, London
Picture credit: Royal Academy of Arts, London
Reference number: 03/3966
Inscriptions: Inscribed centre "(500) G_____ Fe___ucci cost__e la citta di Volterra ad a____" in pencil. (Probably written by Leighton. Possibly a reference to the book from which these figures and costumes were copied. Volterra is a medieval town in Tuscany.) I

Interpretation

Partially legible inscriptions mention the medieval town of Volterra in Tuscany and give dates for two of the figures. One of the profiles is labelled 'Lorenzo M', for Lorenzo de' Medici, also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492). The latter closely resembles painted and sculpted portraits of Lorenzo and was probably drawn from a print, possibly in the same publication as the other figures. [Another inscription mentions Gaston de Foix who lead the French army to besiege Brescia In 1512.] These are all studies of works by the illustrator, Paul Mercuri (1804-1884), which Leighton copied from the reference book 'Costumes des XIIIe, XIVe et XVe siFcles, extraits des monumens les plus authentiques de peinture et de sculpture, avec un texte historique et descriptif' ('Costumes of the 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries, Extracted from the Most Authentic Monuments of Painting and Sculpture, with a Historical and Descriptive Text') by Camille Bonnard, published in Paris in two volumes, 1829-30.

Description

Left of sheet: two tracings of male heads, in profile, facing to the left. Far right of the sheet: full-length study of a male figure, copied from an illustration of Gaston de Foix, from 'Costumes des XIII, XIV, et XV SiFcles: Extraits des Monumens les Plus Authentiques de Peinture et de Sculpture, avec un Texte Historique et Descriptif', (volume II, plate 64). Centre left of sheet: full-length study of a male figure, copied from an illustration of a "jeune page" (young page), from 'Bonnard, volume I, plate 19), drawn upside down on the sheet. 

Provenance

Bequeathed by the artist to his sisters, Mrs. Augusta Matthews (nTe Augusta Neunburg Leighton, 1835-1919) and Mrs. Alexandra Orr (nTe Alexandra Leighton, 1828-1903); presented to the Royal Academy of Arts, London by Matthews and Orr in 1896