A Coign of Vantage by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A., R.W.S., Anglo-Dutch Artist, 1836-1912
A Coign of Vantage, 1895, Oil on Canvas, 63.8 x 44.7 cm, Private Collection https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/alma-tadema-home-antiquity-leighton-house-museum-review/

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a renowned Dutch-born British painter who had a profound interest in Roman antiquity. He was one of the leading artists of the late 19th century and early 20th century, specializing in historical and classical subjects. Alma-Tadema’s fascination with Roman antiquity was central to his artistic vision and played a significant role in shaping his career. The painting A Coign of Vantage by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, regarded as one of the artist’s quintessential masterpieces, is a favourite of mine! SIR LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA, O.M., R.A., R.W.S. (BRITISH, 1836-1912) (christies.com)

The painting A Coign of Vantage by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema has an interesting title! The phrase comes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, no jutty, frieze, Buttresss, nor coign of vantage, but this bird Hath made his pendent bed and was later popularized by Sir Walter Scott. The word coign, meaning a projecting corner or cornerstone, is a variant of the coin from Old French meaning ‘wedge, corner, die’, from Latin cuneus ‘wedge’. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s painting is perfectly titled! https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/coign-vantage

The focal point of the painting is a group of three young women, elegantly dressed in vibrant gowns, olive green, beige, white, and pink, standing on a marbled terrace, over a thrilling, vertiginous drop, an advantageous viewpoint, overlooking the sea below. May I suggest this is the island of Capri and the Bay of Naples, in the distance? The women stand against a marble railing and gaze down at the sea, where a luxuriously decked trireme is depicted arriving. The composition is further enhanced with the addition of an impressive bronze sculpture of an animal, wreathed with vibrant yellow flowers. Was the artist inspired by the Egyptian Sphinx he probably saw in Villa San Michele on Capri? Alma-Tadema would have visited the famous Villa after inspecting the sites at Pompeii and Herculaneum, seeking inspiration for his pictures, and gathering material for use as props for his paintings. https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6426695?ldp_breadcrumb=back&intObjectID=6426695&from=salessummary&lid=1

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A., R.W.S., Anglo-Dutch Artist, 1836-1912
A Coign of Vantage (detail), 1895, Oil on Canvas, 63.8 x 44.7 cm, Private Collection https://makeupandbeautyblog.com/daily-photo/more-pics-of-a-coign-of-vantage/
The Sphinx at Villa San Michele, approximately 3200 years old, Red Granite, Villa San Michele, Anacapri, Italy https://www.villasanmichele.eu/collection

The painting A Coign of Vantage is a prime example of Alma-Tadema’s ability to transport viewers to a distant time and place, evoking a sense of nostalgia and fascination for the grandeur of ancient Rome. The painting captures the artist’s dedication to historical accuracy, his love for opulent settings, and his skill in creating an alluring atmosphere through his meticulous technique. This is a picture of grand luxe, according to the experts at Christie’s, ease and well-being, an escapist fantasy perfectly attuned to the wishes of a picture-buying public who reveled in the warmth of its Mediterranean light. At the height of his fame, his pictures of Ancient Rome, wealthy, secure, and insouciant, reflected the success enjoyed by the newly rich plutocrats of Victorian Britain, who had made their fortunes building another Empire, a couple of millennia later. https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6426695?ldp_breadcrumb=back&intObjectID=6426695&from=salessummary&lid=1

A view of the Blue Parlor in the Temple of Wings Mansion, and Alma-Tadema’s painting ‘A Coign of Vantage’ as displayed in the Parlor… The contents of the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection in their Mansion, The Temple of Wings were auctioned at Christie’s (May 31 – June 15, 2023) https://www.artandobject.com/news/masterpieces-alma-tadema-moore-and-bouguereau-headline-getty-collection-auction

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, born as Lourens Alma Tadema on January 8, 1836, and died on June 25, 1912, was a Dutch-born British painter. He is known for his meticulously detailed and beautifully rendered paintings depicting scenes from ancient civilizations, particularly ancient Rome, and Egypt. Alma-Tadema’s works often portrayed opulent interiors, lavish costumes, and intricate architectural details, capturing the splendor and decadence of the ancient world.

His paintings typically featured historical or mythological themes, and he was known for his thorough research and attention to detail. Alma-Tadema would often reconstruct historically accurate settings for his works, using models, props, and costumes to bring his visions to life. His compositions were carefully arranged, with an emphasis on color, light, and texture. They were highly sought after, and he had a significant influence on later artists. His attention to detail and ability to create immersive and visually stunning scenes made him one of the most successful painters of the late 19th century.

For a PowerPoint presentation of 10 Important Paintings by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema inspired by Ancient Rome, please… Check HERE!

Flaming June

Frederic, Lord Leighton, British Artist, 1830–1896
Flaming June, 1895, Oil on Canvas, 119.1 × 119.1 cm, Museo de Arte de Ponce, The Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc., Ponce, Puerto Rico https://www.art-theoria.com/painting-of-the-month/flaming-june/

According to Leighton, the composition was inspired by the posture of a tired model. He elaborated her sinuous pose and then added sheer orange draperies. Her skin flushed by the sun, she is transformed into a personification of summer heat. The image reflects Leighton’s allegiance to artistic ideals that emphasized harmonious color and form over narrative… Flaming June is currently presented at the MET, in New York City, part of the Victorian Masterpieces from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico (October 8th, 2022 – February 2024) Exhibition. I first saw the painting in 1997 in Washington DC, as part of The Victorians: British Painting in the Reign of Queen Victoria, 1837-1901 NGA Exhibition. Lord Leighton’s painting was one of the highlights… and rightly so! https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/888184?&exhibitionId=0&oid=888184&pkgids=undefined and https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/1997/victorians.html

When Flaming June was first exhibited in 1895 at the Royal Academy in London, it received mixed reviews from the public and critics. Some praised the painting for its beauty and technical skill, while others criticized it for being too decorative and lacking in substance. Over time, Flaming June became one of Lord Leighton’s most celebrated works and is now regarded as a masterpiece of Victorian art. Its popularity is due in part to the fact that it captures the essence of the Aesthetic Movement, which valued beauty and art for art’s sake. The painting’s stunning colours, intricate details, and graceful composition have made it a favorite of art lovers and collectors around the world.

Leighton’s studio on the eve of the exhibition in 1895
Photo: Bedford Lemere / Historic England Archive
https://arthive.com/news/2252~Flaming_June_returned_home_for_the_first_time_in_85_years

The first time I saw Flaming June I was stunned by the artist’s use of colour, light, and texture. The painting features an amazing palette of warm oranges, yellows, and reds, contrasted with cool blues and greens. The colour scheme creates a sense of harmony and balance, with the warm tones of the woman’s dress and skin offset by the cool tones of the background and the marble bench.

The use of light and shadow is another important aspect of the painting’s composition. The warm light of the sun illuminates the woman’s neck, face, and body, creating a sense of warmth and intimacy. The play of light and shadow also adds depth and dimensionality to the painting, making it appear almost three-dimensional.

The texture is also notable. Lord Leighton was known for his attention to detail, and this is evident in the intricate folds and drapery of the woman’s dress, which appear almost lifelike. The texture of the marble bench is also finely rendered, with the veins and striations of the stone adding depth and dimension to the painting.

Frederic, Lord Leighton, British Artist, 1830–1896
Flaming June (detail), 1894, black and white Chalk on brown Paper, Leighton House Museum, London, UK
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/art-sir-frederic-leighton-flaming-june-1895-francisco-filipe-cruz/

Overall, the colours, use of light, and textures of Flaming June are integral to the painting’s beauty and impact. The warm, vibrant colours and intricate textures work together to create a sense of luxury and elegance, while the play of light and shadow adds depth and dimension to the painting. The result is a stunning work of art that continues to captivate viewers more than a century after its creation.

Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896) was a British painter and sculptor who is considered one of the most important figures of the Victorian era. He was born in Scarborough, England, and showed an early talent for art, studying under several well-known artists before enrolling at the Royal Academy in London. He was known for his technical skill and attention to detail, and his paintings often featured classical or historical themes. He was particularly interested in the human form, and many of his works depict idealized figures in elegant poses. Leighton’s legacy as an artist is a lasting one. Regarded as one of the most important artists of the Victorian era, his influence can be seen in the work of many artists who came after him.

Frederic, Lord Leighton, British Artist, 1830–1896
Flaming June, 1894, black and white Chalk on brown Paper, Leighton House Museum, London, UK
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/art-sir-frederic-leighton-flaming-june-1895-francisco-filipe-cruz/

Flaming June is part of the collection of the Ponce Museum of Art in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The painting was acquired by the Ponce Museum of Art in 1963 and has been on display there ever since.

In the early 20th century, when Victorian art was already falling out of fashion, Samuel Courtauld, the millionaire collector and founder of the Courtauld Institute, called it “the most wonderful painting in existence”. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/20/flaming-june-frederic-lord-leighton-house-museum

For a Student Activity, please… Check HERE!

The curator of the exhibition Flaming June: The Making of an Icon (4 November 2016 to 2 April 2017) at Leighton House, Daniel Robbins, assembled five of the six works from the artist’s original 1895 Studio Installation on the eve of the 1895 Exhibition at the Royal Academy. Besides Flaming June (1895), we can see Lachrymal (Tears), 1895, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Between Hope and Fear, The Maid with the Golden Hair, and Candida which have been in private collections since the 19th century. Curators could not trace the sixth canvas, A Study, or Listener, the painting that Leighton sent to the Royal Academy instead of Candida.
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/past-exhibitions-leighton-house

Marie Euphrosyne Spartali-Stillman

Marie Spartali Stillman, 1844-1927
Self-Portrait, 1874, gouache and pastel with gum arabic on paper, 63.5 by 50.8 cm, property of a private collector
https://byronsmuse.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/marie-spartali-stillman-a-grecian-muse/ and https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/marie-spartali-stillman-112-c-5vbtvxatmp

Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Today, the 8th of March, many countries around the world celebrate International Women’s Day, a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic, or political. The United Nations page on Women’s Day reminds us how… the growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women’s conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.  A BLOG POST on Marie Euphrosyne Spartali-Stillman, a Pre-Raphaelite artist par excellence, will be my humble contribution to the importance of the day. https://www.internationalwomensday.com/ and https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day/background

Marie Euphrosyne Spartali-Stillman was a Grecian beauty! She was statuesque, nearly 1.90 m in height, with big, dark eyes and long, thick brown hair. Along with her sister Christina, the daughters of Michael Spartali, a wealthy Greek-born businessman and Consul-General of Greece in London, the Spartali girls frequented London’s artistic and literary salons of the 1860s creating a stir. The artist Thomas Armstrong, for example, met the two young women at a Sunday get-together at their parents’ house in 1863 and recalled, “We were all à genoux before them, and of course every one of us burned with a desire to try to paint them.” The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne seeing Marie wearing a white dress with blue ribbon sashes was short of words but quite emotional, writing… “She (Marie) is so beautiful that I want to sit down and cry.” Along with her cousins, Maria Zambaco and Aglaia Coronio were known collectively among friends as “the Three Graces”, after the Charites of Greek mythology (Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia), as all three were noted beauties of Greek heritage. https://www.artandantiquesmag.com/stillman-paintings/ and https://www.facebook.com/female.artists.in.history/photos/marie-spartali-stillman-british-painter-1844-1927portrait-of-a-young-woman-1868w/1870113673273513/

Thus… she became the muse and the model to several important artists of the time, particularly artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, enchanting them with her elegant stature and classical feature! Her beauty, however, was not easy to capture! Dante Gabriel Rossetti loved her to pose for him but on a letter addressed to Jane Morris, dated  August 14, 1867, he wrote… “I find her head the most difficult I ever drew. It depends not so much on real form as on a subtle charm of life which one cannot recreate.” https://www.facebook.com/female.artists.in.history/photos/marie-spartali-stillman-british-painter-1844-1927portrait-of-a-young-woman-1868w/1870113673273513/

The young woman was artistic and an intellectual. Starting in 1864, and for several years, she became the student of artist Ford Madox Brown. Once more, in a letter addressed to Brown, Rossetti writes “I just hear Miss Spartali is to be your pupil. I hear too that she is one and the same with a marvelous beauty of whom I have heard much talk. So box her up and don’t let fellows see her, as I mean to have first shy at her in the way of sitting.” https://byronsmuse.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/marie-spartali-stillman-a-grecian-muse/

In 1871, against her parents’ wishes, she married American journalist, diplomat, author, historian, photographer, and trained artist William J. Stillman (1828 – 1901). A captivating personality, Stillman served as a war correspondent in Crete and the Balkans, a United States consul in Rome, and afterward in Crete, during the Cretan insurrection. He is known for training the young Arthur Evans as a war correspondent in the Balkans, remaining a lifelong friend and confidant. He is also known for considering taking over the excavation at Knossos from Minos Kalokairinos! The couple, along with their children, lived an exciting life between England, Italy, and the United States, Marie being at the time, the only Pre-Raphaelite artist to work and exhibit in the United States. https://digitalcollections.union.edu/s/home/page/william-james-stillman-collection  

According to Margaretta Frederick, curator of the major monographic exhibition, “Poetry in Beauty: The Pre-Raphaelite Art of Marie Spartali Stillman,” (November 7, 2015–January 31, 2016, at the Delaware Museum of Art) Marie  “…abhorred publicity and never wanted to put herself forward, because she was suspicious of critics and publicity.” She was also a victim of the Victorian mentality, further wrote Margaretta Frederick, that dictated that a woman should not compete with men, or at least not appear to do so… explaining that even Spartali Stillman’s choice of medium—watercolor—was guided by this code of conduct: “In a middle- to upper-middle-class family, women painted in watercolor. So she was fixated on this medium that allowed her to situate herself next to the men and compete on their level without transgressing too many social barriers.” https://www.artandantiquesmag.com/stillman-paintings/

Marie might have abhorred publicity, but she did not labor in obscurity. She exhibited at the Royal Academy starting in 1870 and had dealers selling her work on both sides of the Atlantic. Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the Italian Renaissance, she is known for creating over one hundred paintings of dreamy medievalism, plenty of Dante-and-Boccaccio scenes, and Portraits of unusual psychological acuteness. Her style, free, and painterly, is an integral link in the chain of Victorian Aestheticism. https://www.artandantiquesmag.com/stillman-paintings/

For a PowerPoint of artwork by Marie Spartali Stillman at the Delaware Art Gallery in the USA, please… Check HERE!