Ribbons and Lace
Ribbons and Lace c1902 by British Painter Edmund Blair Leighton (1852 – 1922); was a historical genre painter that produced highly detailed, decorative and beautiful works of art. Leighton specialized in Regency and Medieval themes and exhibited his works annually at the British Royal Academy from 1878 to 1920.
This is a beautiful and delightful genre scene that depicts three young sisters in the entrance doorway of their house; one with black hair, one brown hair, and the youngest with red hair.
The sisters a outfitted in long multi-layered dress with the brown haired sister wearing a white bonnet with a blue satin bow on her head that has a matching ribbon bow tied to the front of her dress.
Two of the three sisters are engaged with a textile merchant that has come to their door to sell some ribbons and lace; while the brown haired sister inspects the quality of a red gold embroidered wide ribbon; her shorter sister with black hair discusses with the merchant the quality of the yellow ribbon she holds in her hand that is still in the merchants product basket.
The merchant who his dressed in a dark pattern coat and hat is holding the product basket open for the young ladies to see his offering and also has another basket off to the corner on his right filled with more fabric.
The young sister with red hair is leaning on the shoulder of the taller sister with brown hair; and behind the sister with black hair is a man wearing a white wig and glasses that may be a servant standing in front and to the left of a 12 or 16 pane window, that looks out into the garden of the house.
This is a remastered digital art old masters reproduction of a public domain image that is available as a canvas print online.
Information Below Derived From Wikipedia.org
Edmund was born to Caroline Leighton (née Boosey) and artist Charles Blair Leighton (1823 – 1855) in London England on September 21, 1852; and was educated at the University College School, which he left at the age of 15 to work for a tea merchant.
As he had an interest in art and wanted to study it; he enrolled at South Kensington and began taking lesson in the evening; and from there attended Heatherley’s School in Newman Street, London.
When he was 21 years of age he entered the Royal Academy of Arts, which was founded in 1768; and would later receive his first art commission doing monochrome illustrations for Cassell’s Magazine and its Book of British Ballads.
He exhibited his first painting titled: A Flaw in the Title in 1874 at the Royal Academy, which earned him 200 Pounds; and would exhibit his works annually for the next 40 years at the Royal Academy until 1920.
Edmund was an artist who paid great attention to detail and produced highly finished decorative historical artworks, that featured romanticized scenes of chivalry and women in medieval attire, that had great popular appeal.
