Leighton UK Business Information

John William Waterhouse was born in 1849 in Rome where his father worked as a painter and his mother Isabella kept house. His nickname was “Nino”. In the 1850’s, the family moved to England and Waterhouse senior started a studio in South Kensington where they both worked for a short time. John was accepted to the Royal Academy in 1870, where he was influenced by both Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Frederick Leighton, and his first exhibition was in 1874. His paintings were well received and he was ecstatic.

He traveled to Italy on a number of occasions and painted a number of genre scenes. He is regarded by many as the last of the English Romantic Painters.

He married Esther Kenworthy in 1883, the daughter of an art schoolmaster from Ealing, who had exhibited her flower paintings at a number of venues in England. Unfortunately, they had no children. It is interesting that very few personal effects of John Waterhouse like letters or writings exist today, so his private life is mystery.

John painted mainly in oils, yet he was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 1883, but he resigned a few years later.

He was elected to the status of Academician in 1895 and taught at St John’s Wood Art School and St John’s Wood Arts Club and the Royal Academy.

Many would argue that his most famous painting is “The Lady Shalott”, which is about a grieving Elaine of Astolat, when Sir Lancelot does not love her.

He contracted cancer, but continued painting almost to the day he died in 1917. His wife lived for another twenty-seven years and died in a nursing home in London.

His paintings hang in many galleries around the world.

The term Old Master refers to artists or painters that painted between 1400 and 1900. (Some say to 1800) These painters were mainly from Europe. They were people who were fully trained and worked independently. Some of them are household names, even today, like Rembrandt, Leonardo, Rubens, Raphael and Michelangelo. Professional art critiques tend to avoid the term Old Masters, however it is still used by many who admire the works of those painters.

When we look at the paintings by these people, we recognize landscapes, people, religious depictions, historical scenes and other things. These artists worked out the principles of painting that we take for granted today. They learned how to set up an appealing composition, and how to portray light and perspective in a way that we still appreciate.

Prior to this time, painters were more obviously tied to moral values and their skills were often procured by the best paying patron, who would usually direct the artistic effort and content. The may have taken direction from their patron who may have encouraged (or dictated) a certain cultural or political viewpoint.

Later painters learned from the Old Masters and were free to express their independent thinking and visions, but they had the techniques of the their predecessors to fall back on.

It is always a debate as to who was the most influential painter or artist amongst the Old Masters, and there will be no suggestion here. It is interesting to note however, that many of the Old Masters painted many different types of paintings. They mostly produced paintings that were of high quality, however for many of them the commercial necessity of providing for their families also directed their works.

The painters included in the Old Masters list come from many countries, most notably, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland and England.

A few of the Old Masters:

Leonardo da Vinci – Italian (1452-1519)

Michelangelo – Italian (1475 -1564)

Raphael – Italian (1483-1520)

El Greco – Greek (1541-1614)

Frans Hal – Dutch (1580-1666)

Nicolas Poussin – French (1594-1665)

Diego Valazquez – Spanish (1599-1660)

Jophannes Vermeer – Dutch (1632-1675)

Joshua Reynolds – English (1723-1792)

Later names like William Bouguereau, Jean-Leon Gerome, Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Sir John Everett Millais, Tissot, and Lord Frederick Leighton were added.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does indicate the different origins of some of the major players during this time.

The original works of these artists can be found in most of the galleries in Europe and acquisition of originals is not and easy process. However, prints of all sizes have been made by many suppliers.

Frederick Leighton was born in Yorkshire in 1830. His father was a doctor who was involved in importing and exporting, and took early steps to encourage Frederick to become a doctor as well, by hours of instruction in anatomy. He traveled extensively in Europe with his family as he grew up and learned a number of languages other than English. He was able to see the great paintings and architecture throughout Europe.

Leighton studied in Paris for three years, commencing in 1855 where he developed a classic French art style. He was inspired to paint subjects and themes from literature. The authors, he is know to admire, included Shakespeare and Dante. His training was achieved by studying in Frankfurt, Rome and Berlin. His nickname was “Jupiter Olympus”, given by Burne-Jones, because of his influence in the art world during his lifetime. He still is regarded as an important and influential artist. He was the president of the Royal Academy in his later years. He was not a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Many regard, that the reason that he was so successful during his lifetime, was that his paintings were a nostalgic longing for ancient Rome and Greece. His paintings are said to have shown the past in the realms of modern times. His flawless painting technique with excellent composition and color enabled him to create works that appealed to all.

The magazine of Art sums Leighton up well in this quote.

“Sir Frederick Leighton maintains a level of excellence that would be wonderful if the reason of it were not so manifest. He invariably sets up a lofty standard, and to that standard he as invariably attains; for he knows his own power so accurately, and in accomplishment is so certain, that he is as unlikely of failure as he is indisposed to shoot beyond the mark which he presumably regards as his limit” – Magazine of Art, 1895

He won many awards and honors during his lifetime and the day before he died in 1896, he received the rank of Lord from Queen Victoria, and since he was unmarried the award did not continue. His home in Holland Park was turned into a museum of his works.