Artwork
Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room
Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room is an unspecified painting by the Aestheticist artist Frederic Leighton. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Frederic Leighton's Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room is a painting created in 1886.
Frederic Leighton's Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room is a painting created in 1886. The work is executed on a support measuring 30.5 cm in height and 17.8 cm in width. As a preparatory study for a ceiling decoration, the piece reflects the artist's approach to planning large-scale decorative schemes through a smaller, portable format.
The classification as a painting indicates the use of traditional pigments and binders applied to a rigid or flexible surface, consistent with Leighton's academic practice during the late Victorian period.
History & Provenance
Frederic Leighton created this painted study in 1886 as a preparatory work for the ceiling of the Marquand Music Room. The piece measures 30.5 by 17.8 centimeters. It eventually entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is held as part of their permanent holdings.
The Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room by Frederic Leighton is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum acquired the painting in 2021, assigning it the accession number 2021.10.2. Dating to 1886, this work measures 30.5 cm in height and 17.8 cm in width.
The provided sources do not contain specific records of past exhibitions or a detailed provenance trail prior to its 2021 acquisition by the institution.
Overview
Frederic Leighton’s 1894 oil painting, Study for the Ceiling of the Marquand Music Room, is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. Executed as a preparatory work for a larger ceiling commission, the piece presents three adjoining panels set within a dark wooden frame, each populated by figures in richly colored garments.
Subject & Meaning
The outer panels each feature a solitary female dancer, her arms lifted and draped in flowing robes that suggest motion frozen in time. The central panel gathers three figures: a standing man in dark attire, a seated scholar reading a book, and a red‑robed figure clutching a staff, creating a quiet narrative contrast between activity and contemplation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor.
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