'Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna is Carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence; in front of the Madonna, and crowned with laurels, walks Cimabue himself, with his pupil Giotto; behind it Arnolfo Di Lapo, Gaddo Gaddi, Andrea Tafi, Niccola Pisa

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Painting details

Title: 'Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna is Carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence; in front of the Madonna, and crowned with laurels, walks Cimabue himself, with his pupil Giotto; behind it Arnolfo Di Lapo, Gaddo Gaddi, Andrea Tafi, Niccola Pisa
Date: 1853-55
Dimensions: 222.3 x 520.7 cm
Location: Royal Collection
Picture credit: Courtesy of Leighton House Museum, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (illustrated from a photogravure)

Interpretation

In 1853 Leighton was visited by his friend Giovanni Costa (Italian painter, 1826-1903) at his studio in Via della Purificazione in Rome. Costa found him working on this painting, and in an article, written shortly after Leighton's death, Costa he recalled "the studies of all the details he had already been making for two years at Florence and at Munich, where he had been working under the tuition of Steinle." Leighton's studies for the painting were remarkable for their high level of finish. In 1897, referring 'Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna...', a critic writing in 'The Times' noted that "...the science, the training of it, [shows] the influence of elaborate studies." [Corkran, Alice, 'Frederic Leighton', Methuen & Co., London, 1904, p.180; Costa, Giovanni, 'Notes on Lord Leighton', The Cornhill Magazine, 1897, p.374]

Drawings related to 'Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna is Carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence; in front of the Madonna, and crowned with laurels, walks Cimabue himself, with his pupil Giotto; behind it Arnolfo Di Lapo, Gaddo Gaddi, Andrea Tafi, Niccola Pisa

Description

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This painting is composed of many figures walking in procession. In the center of the painting is a man dressed in light, formal garments including a robe, cap and tights, who holds a flower in his right hand and holds the hand of a little boy in his left. The boy is dressed in a cap, a simpler shirt and dark tights. To the left of the man stands a group of men and women conducting various activities. A little girl to the far left holds a bouquet of flowers, while a boy to her right holds up a baton of some kind. Behind the boy is a priest, who is recognizable by his beard and his hat. Behind the central figures and to the right of the picture, is another group of men who all stand in formal garments, talking among themselves. The men are also holding a giant painting, that is being held up by ropes of garland. An elder man who wears garments associating him with the church, rides on a white horse into the scene. On the left hand side of the painting, a group of three figures sits up in a balcony, wearing hats and formal dresses, and look down onto the crowd below. In the background there is a cathedral with a cross on top of it, and further beyond that in the distance to the right are various trees and a cloudy sky on the horizon.

Provenance

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Purchased by Queen Victoria, 1855.

Bibliography

Jones, Stephen et al., 'Frederic Leighton', Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1996, p.14,22-23,35 catalogue number 8
Ormond, LeonTe and Richard, 'Lord Leighton', Yale University Press, London, 1975, p.11, 17, 18, 20, 24-25, 26-31, 32, 37, 38, 40, 49, 51, 55, 76, 86, 87, 126, 150, catalogue number 23, plates 33, 34

Exhibition history

1855, Royal Academy of Arts, London, catalogue number 569
1857, Manchester, catalogue number 520
London, 1862, catalogue number 541
04 January 1897 to 13 March 1897, 'Exhibition of Works be the Late Lord Leighton of Stretton President of the Royal Academy: Winter Exhibition', The Royal Academy of Arts, London, catalogue number 65
1951, Royal Academy of Arts Winter Exhibition, London, catalogue number 303
1968, Royal Academy of Arts Winter Exhibition, London, catalogue number 683.

Reproductions

Photogravure, Fine Art Society, 1898

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