Four Musical Putti (in Sketch Book With Drawings on Twenty-six Leaves)
ca. 1849
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
Sheet (page): 7 7/8 x 10 7/8 in. (20 x 27.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1942
Accession Number
42.21(11)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, a young Frederic, Lord Leightonlater renowned as a leading Victorian artist and President of the Royal Academy— this delicate graphite sketch around 1849. Titled *Four Musical Putti*, appears in a sketchbook containing drawings on twenty-six leaves, Leighton's early mastery during his formative years studying abroad in Europe. At just 19, he was absorbing influences from Renaissance and classical art, evident in these playful cherubic figures, or putti, frolicking with violins and other musical instruments. Rendered in graphite on a modest sheet measuring 7 7/8 x 10 7...
About the Artist
Frederic, Lord Leighton · 1830–1896
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830–1896), was born on 3 December 1830 in Scarborough, England, to a prosperous medical family. His father, Dr. Frederic Septimus Leighton, and mother, Augusta Susan, provided him with financial security throughout his life, while his grandfather, Sir James Boniface Leighton, had served as physician to Russian tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I. After early ed...