hich the "broad" painting
of the sea beyond was a notable exception to the artist's usual
handling; _Lachrymae_, a standing figure in robes of black and blue
green, resting her arm upon a Doric column; _'Twixt Hope and Fear_, a
seated figure of a black-haired Greek girl, robed in white and olive,
with a sheep-skin thrown around her; _The Maid with her Yellow Hair_, a
girlish figure in lemon-coloured drapery, reading from a red-backed
book; _Listener_, a child seated with crossed legs on a fur rug; and a
_Study of a Girl's Head_, with auburn, wavy hair.
In the 1896 Academy _Clytie_ was the only picture. In Lord Leighton's
studio in various stages of completion were a _Bacchante_, a half-length
figure of a fair-haired girl crowned with leaves, and a leopard skin
over her shoulder; _The Fair Persian_, a bust of a girl with flowing
dark hair, crowned by a jewelled circlet; and _The Vestal_, a
half-length figure of a girl in white drapery, these were all exhibited
at the Winter Exhibition of 1897.
To _Clytie_, his last picture, a small monograph has been devoted by the
Fine Art Society. In this we read: "'Thank goodness my ailment has not
interfered with my capacity for work, for I have never had a better
appetite for it, nor I believe done better. I was idle for five months
in the summer, but since my return I have been working hard and have
produced the pictures you see.' Thus he spoke to the present writer [of
the monograph in question] as he led the way across his studio....
Turning to the _Clytie_ he continued: 'This I have been at work upon all
the morning. Orchardson has been so good as to say I have never done
anything finer than the sky. You know the story. I have shown the
goddess in adoration before the setting sun, whose last rays are
permeating her whole being. With upraised arms she is entreating her
beloved one not to forsake her. A flood of golden light saturates the
scene, and to carry out my intention, I have changed my model's hair
from black to auburn. To the right is a small altar, upon which is an
offering of fruit, and upon a pillar beyond I shall show the feet of a
statue of Apollo.'
"But a few days after this occurrence the dead President lay in
semi-state in his coffin, before the picture. A drawing in the 'Graphic'
(January 26th, 1896) shows the interior of the studio, with the figure
of Clytie, in her attitude of despair, stretching her arms above the
body of her creator."
Here the record
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