Study of a Female Figure

Drawing details

Title: Study of a Female Figure
Date: 1873
Media: Pen and ink on paper, within a leather bound volume housed in a Moroccan leather case
Dimensions: 27.7 x 20.5 cm
Location: The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain
Picture credit: The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain
Reference number: Volume: Zimmerman
Inscriptions: Inscribed, signed and dated, lower left "Gr Freundliche C_____ung im Fred Leighton 1873" in pen, in the artist's hand. ('Freundliche' is the German word for 'friendly'.) Inscribed, signed and dated "G. F. Watts / 1897 / "Orpheus with his lute" in pen

Interpretation

Leighton was friends with many musicians, whom he invited to perform at musical soirTes at his home in Holland Park Road, Kensington. Agnes Marie Jacobina Zimmermann (German-English composer and pianist, 1847-1925) may well have performed on one such evening. This page is from a volume of letters, sketches and notes collected by Zimmermann from her friends and acquaintances. To the right of Leighton's sketch of 1873, his friend George Frederic Watts (painter and sculptor, 1817-1904) has added a similar sketch in 1897, the year after Leighton's death. The pose of the figure in Leighton's drawing is very similar to that of a figure to the right of his painting 'Music' (c.1883-85, Leighton House Museum), indicating that this image had been in Leighton's mind for some time before the painting was executed. A similar pose was also used for an illustration Leighton made for the cover of the programme to a performance of the Royal Academy Student's Dramatic Club, held at St. Georges Hall on 29 and 31 May 1894 [reproduced in 'The Studio', 1894, volume III, p.91]. Further to the right of the same painting, the chair used in the drawing, in the style of an ancient Greek klismos (a chair with legs which curve out at the front and back) can be seen. Leighton owned a klismos which can be seen in an engraving showing the area known as the 'upper chamber', at the top of the stairs, of his home. ['The Magazine of Art', 1896, p.206]

Description

Left of page: full-length study of a seated female figure in profile facing to the right. A lute rests on her lap and her left hand plays the strings, whilst the right hand reaches to the far side of the lute and appears to be tuning it. Her head is bent forward and rests against the lute. The feet are tucked under the chair. The figure is in classical dress and has hair tied up and a wreath around her head. She is seated on a chair with a cushion on top. Right of page: full-length study of a seated male figure, facing the viewer. A lute rests on his lap and he supports it with his left hand. His right forearm rests on the right knee which is bent and points to the left. The left leg is stretched out to the left. The head is tilted back and the eyes look up and to the right. The figure appears to be seated on a bench. 

Provenance

Bequeathed by Agnes Marie Jacobina Zimmermann (German-English composer and pianist, 1847-1925) to The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain in 1926 

Reproductions

Reproduced as a postcard by The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain