'The Sluggard' by Frederic Lord Leighton (1830-1896)

This is an early 20th Century (c.1910) antique cast of 'The Sluggard' by Frederic Lord Leighton (1830-1896). Excellent rich brown patination. Leighton's Sluggard was first exhibited as a clay sketch at the Royal Academy in 1886. The Sluggard was originally entitled Athlete awakening from sleeping and was inspired by the languid stretching of Leighton's muscular male model Giuseppe Valona after a long sitting. Lord Leighton was a wildly popular painter, draughtsman and sculptor. He was one of the most famous British artists of the nineteenth century. The recipient of many national and international awards and honours, he was well acquainted with members of the royal family and with most of the great artists, writers and politicians of the late Victorian era. Having been educated at University College London and then on the European continent, first from Eduard von Steinle and the Giovanni Costa, Leighton was held in high esteem by society. Queen Victoria purchased his works in 1855 and 1878. Leighton's precise, historical style was wildly popular, his depiction of the classical subject matter in the academic style was unparalleled and learnt him high stature in the Royal Academy, of which he became president in 1878. Leighton’s legacy lives on today, after his death in 1896 his sisters Augusta and Alexandra sold his collections to Christies in order to fund ‘Leighton House’, a project which immortalised his life by turning his home into a museum.