Leighton

Alfred Lys BaldryProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 51K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Leighton by A. L. BaldryAuthor: Baldry, A. L. (Alfred Lys), 1858-1939,Language: English, Class: ND: Fine Arts: Painting, Release Date: Aug 1, 2011

Editor's review

A. L. Baldry's short biography of Leighton continues the approach of early popular art writing: it follows the painter's life as a thread, linking his creative phases and representative works, in restrained language and at modest length. Leighton, a representative figure of Victorian British academic art, has his classical subjects and rigorous draftsmanship presented positively here, giving readers a glimpse of nineteenth-century British art institutions and taste. The book contains no elaborate theoretical argument and reads more like an extended guided tour, suitable for dipping into on a commute or before sleep. Note that it was written early; its evaluations carry the standpoint of its time, and later reflection on the academic school and subsequent research lie outside its scope. Reading it alongside albums or exhibition materials, looking as you read, will yield more solid gains.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian British painting
Beginners who want to learn about Leighton's life and representative works
Self-learners who need English-language extensive reading material on art
Art lovers who enjoy the academic classical style

Not a good fit for

Art history readers expecting contemporary critical perspectives and the latest research
Readers who need extensive high-resolution plates for comparison
Readers who prefer Chinese and do not want to read the English original

Reading tips

Read the life narrative first, then look up images of each work mentioned in the book for comparison.
Pay attention to the author's evaluation of academic taste and keep your own judgment while reading.
After each chapter, write a one- or two-sentence summary to help organize the painter's creative phases.
Read alongside material on contemporary British painters to form an impression of the era's background.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What aspects of Leighton does this book mainly cover?

It focuses on his life and creative career, introducing his artistic path, representative works, and overall style; it is a popular short biography of a painter. It does not go deeply into technical details or offer systematic theoretical analysis, and is better suited as an introductory guide to Leighton.

Can I understand it without a background in British art history?

Yes. The narrative is centered on the person and the works, with few technical terms, and does not require prior knowledge of an art-historical framework. Readers need only a basic interest in painting; names of people and institutions can be looked up as they go.

Are the book's evaluations clearly biased?

Yes. The author wrote early and is largely positive about the academic school and Leighton, with little discussion of later reflection on the academic system. Read it as a sample of the views of its time, and consult more recent research for a fuller judgment.

Is it suitable as material for a class or reading group?

It can serve as lightweight supplementary material. It is short with a clear thread, making it easy to form a quick impression of the figure, but its depth is limited and it is not suitable as a main textbook. In a reading group, it works better when combined with albums and discussion of contemporary works.

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About the author

Alfred Lys Baldry Author · British (English) · 1858–1939

Alfred Lys Baldry (1858–1939) was a British art critic and painter. Born in Torquay, Devon, he studied at the University of Oxford and the Royal Academy Schools, and was a pupil of the painter Albert Moore, whose biography he later wrote. Baldry contributed art criticism to periodicals for many years. Three of his works are held in this collection, including Millais, Leighton and Burne-Jones, and he also wrote Three Great Modern Painters: Leighton, Burne-Jones and Whistler. His writing focuses on Victorian British painters and has contributed notably to the study of Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic art. His criticism combines close analysis of works with accounts of painters' lives, making it a useful reference for understanding nineteenth-century British painting.