1852 -1922 · Victorian narrative painting and medieval imagination

Chivalry, courtly love, meticulous costumes and theatrical lighting make Edmund Blair Leighton one of the great storytellers of the British historical imagination.

Born in London in 1852 into a family of artists, Edmund Blair Leighton was the son of the painter Charles Blair Leighton. He studied at South Kensington Schools then at the Royal Academy Schools, where he acquired precise drawing and a solid profession as a narrative painter. From the end of the 1870s, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and developed a work devoted to British history, the Middle Ages, the Regency and sentimental scenes. Leighton was not a Pre-Raphaelite in the strict sense, but he shared with this movement a taste for costumes, objects, architecture and an idealized era. Leighton was not a Pre-Raphaelite in the strict sense, but he shared with this movement a taste for costumes, objects, architecture and an idealized era. Leighton was not a Pre-Raphaelite in the strict sense, but he shared with this movement a taste for costumes, objects, architecture and an idealized era. Leighton was not a Pre-Raphaelite in the strict sense, but he shared with this movement a taste for costumes, objects, architecture and sentimental scenes. Leighton was not a Pre-Raphaelite in the readable, central gesture, sentimental tension and meaningful accessories. Caring, God protects you and the departure or wedding scenes transform social rites into immediately understandable images. Its clear palette and smooth finish meet the expectations of the Victorian and Edwardian public. Died in London in 1922, it leaves an abundant corpus of paintings and studies, today scattered in public and private collections. Died in London in 1922, he left an abundant corpus of paintings and studies, today scattered in public and private collections. The "Edmund Blair Leighton" selection notably compares Caring and Lady embroidering the banner. His reading favors drawing.

Leighton gives the past the clarity of a lived scene: a ceremonial gesture, a fabric and a look are enough to shift the setting towards the story.