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eminently readable pages of Mr. Minchin’s book.
The same publisher who produced that novel by M. Pierre Veber which was reviewed here last month has brought out M. Camille Pert’s “En Anarchie”1 It is the story of a young, intelligent, and, in a way, superior workman, who is led to pass from thoughts and words to fact and bloodshed, less, it seems, by his tendencies, for he is of a naturally amiable disposition, than by his revengeful love for a woman to whom he is but a toy, almost as quickly put away as it was taken up. This is to be said for the book, that one does not like to leave it until the end is reached. Many of the characters are cleverly delineated.
A. B.
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The Magazine of Art for August contains amongst other interesting matter an article on Plas Mawr, Conway, the home of the Royal Cambrian Academy, by Mr. E. W. Haslehurst. The old home of the Wynnes is, of course, haunted, and the ghost is referred to in detail. Mr. Walter Hunt, the animal painter, is the subject of an article by Miss Marion Hepworth Dixon. The reproductions of his pictures are admirable.
Kensington
The Two Most Important Events which have taken place during the past month with respect to the movement for preserving the Leighton House in perpetuity as a national possession have resulted first through the Kings action in sending from Buckingham Palace for exhibition in Lord Leighton’s studio the picture of “Cimabue’s Madonna being carried in triumph through the streets of Florence”, and another picture from Marlborough House, also owned by H. M. the King, with which some of Leighton’s most beautiful pictures have been grouped so as to make a representative exhibition of his works, which will remain open till November is t; and, secondly, the ordaining by the Bishop of London that an important public meeting should take place in the Kensington Town Hall, where the Bishop wished to speak in furtherance of the main idea of the scheme.
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The Private View of the exhibition took place on Monday, July 8th, and many of Lord Leighton’s oldest and best friends gathered to see the pictures in the studios, which the great canvas from Buckingham Palace visits for the first time and where certainly it is seen as it has never been seen before. There were those present at the private view, lifelong friends of Leighton who had watched him at work on it in Rome, now more than half a century a go; but all agreed that never, even in the studio where it was painted, had the great processional picture ever been seen to such great advantage before. This first famous picture, painted when Leighton was twenty-four years of age, a marvellous production for anyone so young, shows with an indisputable force that his artistic gifts were as native as the force of character which developed them, and that his all-round genius yielded fruit at an abnormally early age. Next the painting of the Cimabue is placed a wonderful drawing in pencil and Chinese white of the original design, slightly different from the completed painting. In the anteroom of the glass studio are exquisite sketches for parts of the picture; notably the study for the woman viewing the sight from a window, in pencil and water colour (given to the permanent Leighton House collection by Mr. J. A. Fuller-Maitland), and two pages on which are drawn the wreaths of bay leaves on the heads of the boys in the procession, than which it would be hard to find finer drawings in pencil in the world art collections (one presented by Mr. Mac- Whirter, R. A., the other by Mrs. Russell Barrington).
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Next in date among the pictures exhibited comes “Summer Moon”, lent by Mrs. Alfred Morrison, exhibited at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1872, and considered by many — Mr. G. F. Watts, R. A., among the number — as Leighton’s finest picture. This is placed on an easel in a beautiful light in the large studio. Near it is the study in oils, painted by the actual light of the moon in Rome, of one
of the heads in the picture (given to the Leighton House by Mr. Alfred Waterhouse, R. A.). Leighton began painting the “Summer Moon” in a preparation of flour (“farina”) which was used by the old Venetian artists. He got into a mess with this preparation, and consulted Sir W. Richmond as to how to get out of it. That he succeeded no one will doubt who visits the Leighton House and sees the picture. Next in order of date comes “Weaving the Wreath”, lent by Mrs. George Holt, in which the colour is notably lovely. This picture was exhibited in 1873, and the sketch for the Moorish garden (lent by Mr. Ouless, R. A.) painted the same year. The “Clytemnestra”, belonging to the Leighton House, and the picture “Moorish Garden — a Dream of Granada” (lent by Sir J. W. Pease, Bart., M.P.) were both painted in 1874, and show what variety could exist in the works which Leighton carried out simultaneously. “The First Music Lesson” (lent by Mr. E. M. Denny), exhibited in 1877, is one of the greatest favourites among the artist's paintings. Sir W. Richmond, in his essay entitled “A Tribute”, writes: “‘The Music Lesson,' that for perfection of design, as well as of execution as a picture of genre, the painter never surpassed”. “Nausicaa” (lent by Colonel Sir H. Davies, M. P.), “Neruccia” (lent by Mrs. Lees), “Sister's Kiss” (lent by Mr. W. B. Greenfield), “Fatidica” (lent by Mr. W. H. Lever), bring the examples of the various years' work to 1894. On either side of the great canvas of the Cimabue Procession are four interesting portraits — Leighton's father, painted by his son; the portrait of Leighton himself, by G. F. Watts, R. A. (both lent by Sir Bryan Leighton, Bart., from the family portrait gallery at Loton Park, Shrewsbury); and two portraits of his sister, Mrs. Sutherland Orr, one painted by Leighton in 1861, the other in 1890. The interest of this exhibition is immeasurably increased to the artist and the student by the fact that numerous sketches for the pictures on view are hung on the walls. These belong to the permanent collection of the Leighton House, also the reproductions of the complete pictures. It forms in the house of the artist himself one of the most interesting small exhibitions that London has ever offered to the public.
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The Meeting in the large room of the Kensington Town Hall on Friday, June 12th, was crowded. The Mayor, Sir Seymour King, was in the chair, and opened the proceedings by stating that a priceless treasure had been offered to the public by the generosity of Lord Leighton’s sisters, and only its maintenance was asked of the public. He ended his speech by saying that the King wished it stated at that meeting that His Majesty wished every success to the movement and would be very glad to see the idea carried out. The Bishop of London in his speech said that if the offer had been made to Whitechapel, Whitechapel — that was not richer than Kensington — would certainly carry it out. Sir William Richmond, who followed the Bishop, made an eloquent speech on Leighton, ending: “A great artist, a great man, a noble gentleman, a friend of friends, a man whose like it will not be easy to see again — Lord Leighton”; and Sir Robert Hunter spoke as to the desirability of keeping the most vividly striking record of a great man's life — his home — as a memorial to him, adding that in the case of Lord Leighton s home the public would acquire also a treasure-house of art. Earl Percy made perhaps the best speech of the meeting, and after other shorter discourses Canon Pennefather, Vicar of Kensington, in moving a vote of thanks to the Chairman, ended his speech by saying Kensington ought to be ashamed of itself if there was any difficulty in finding a small endowment fund sufficient to maintain such a prize.
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The Concerts on June 27th and July 4th were specially interesting — the first as a most inspiring example of Mr. George Henschel's genius and his charming daughter’s singing; the second was notable for the first appearance at the Leighton House of Mr. Thomas Meux, a singer whose voice and style are such as can rarely be heard, and the beautiful performance by Miss Fanny Davies of selections from Gluck, arranged by Saint- Saens. Needless to say, the Leighton House Quartette performed the Henschel quartette on the 27th and the Brahms and Schumann quartettes on July 4th so as to leave a sense of perfect delight and satisfaction in the audience.
