An Italian Man

Leighton executed several portraits of Italian models in the 1860s which emphasise the aesthetic potential of the subject rather than their individual likeness or personality. Here Leighton shows a man gazing dreamily off into the distance; he wears a luxuriant brown gown which is draped in heavy folds across his shoulders, the warm colours of his skin and clothing contrast with the fresh blue Mediterranean seascape behind him. The model for the picture bears a close resemblance to figures in several of Leighton’s other paintings from this period including The Painter’s Honeymoon, c.1864 and Golden Hours, 1864....