Tracing of the central group of female figures for 'The Arts of Industry as Applied to Peace', by ca. 1884

Lord Leighton PRA (1830 - 1896)

RA Collection: Art

A small-scale tracing for the central group of female figures in The Arts of Industry as Applied to Peace (1884-86, Victoria and Albert Museum, London). On the left is the seated figure looking at herself in a hand-held mirror, and next to her a standing figure seen from the back. This is a similar arrangement to the finished composition but the next three figures standing in a row differ slightly, especially in their distance from the standing figure dressing her hair on the right. This row of figures is rehearsed on the right of the sheet, with the addition of a young girl bringing it closer to the final composition. The tracing is drawn in pencil, with some heavy shading and highlights effected by the liberal use of white paint. This interest in light and shade suggests that the tracing may be related to the monochrome cartoon for the fresco which Leighton painted in 1873.

Leighton produced both a colour study and a half-size cartoon in monochrome for this composition in 1873, following the same method he had used for The Arts of Industry as Applied to War in the previous year. The War fresco was painted in 1878-80 and was followed by Peace in 1884-86.