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Brunetta, 1882 (oil on canvas)
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Brunetta, 1882 (oil on canvas)
2956885 Brunetta, 1882 (oil on canvas) by Grimshaw, John Atkinson (1836-93); 62.23x48.26 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: This painting of 1882 is one of the first to feature the artists model and muse, Agnes Leefe. She was a stage actress at the Leeds Grand Theatre whom Grimshaw invited to stay with his wife and family in their home, Knostrop Hall, in 1879. Although Grimshaws grandson Guy Ragland Phillips insisted that their " association was only professional", the artists daughter Elaine remembered that, " Poor Mama...was deeply hurt...Agnes Leefe remained, living in the studio, but having her dinner with us between 4 o clock and 5 and sleeping upstairs in a front attic bedroom.
Leefe has been variously described as model, studio assistant, governess, even ladys companion. She was the sitter in many of his best figure subjects in his Aesthetic Movement manner, similar to that of Alma Tadema and Tissot. Grimshaws working method, in landscape and in figure painting, could be described as developing variations on a theme ; it was not a process of refinement, of sketches towards a finished picture, but one of invention and re-invention in different moods, with each successive version subtly different. Our painting is the prototype of four subsequent re-inventions. A year later, Grimshaw painted Fiammetta, a very similar composition of the same size (now in Bradford Art Galleries, Cartwright Hall). In the same year he painted another, smaller version that he called Lauretta (like Fiametta, a name from Boccaccio), and in 1885 he exhibited a fourth version, A Vestal, the largest yet at 24 x 20", and his only picture to be shown at the Grosvenor Gallery.
Jane Sellars in Atkinson Grimshaw: Painter of Moonlight, 2011 wrote of the second version:
" Fiametta" is the title of a poem by the fourteenth-century Italian writer, Giovanni Boccaccio, author of The Decameron, and it was the name he gave to the woman he loved but never married, Maria Aquino. In his writings, he alludes to Fiametta as being as cold as a marble statue, which no fire can ever warm. Agnes Leefe, posing as the object of unrequited love, is shown here in front of a marble frieze with classical figures and trailing ivy. She also wears a garland of ivy in her curly dark hair. Ivy represents fidelity, wedded love and friendship, and the ivy leaf can be a female symbol, denoting a force in need of protection. In the Victorian period, ivy was often used to symbolize the notion of gendered spheres for men and women, where the ivy signifies woman, who needs the sturdy oak. or man, for support." (p. 64)); Photo eThe Ms Gallery, London; English, out of copyright
Media ID 23444826
© The Maas Gallery, London / Bridgeman Images
Brunette Egg And Dart Garland Green Dress Lace Collar Model Muse Tiara
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Brunetta, 1882
EDITORS COMMENTS
is a captivating oil painting by John Atkinson Grimshaw that showcases his model and muse, Agnes Leefe. This artwork, measuring 62.23x48.26 cm, is part of a private collection and represents one of the artist's earliest works featuring Leefe. Grimshaw invited Agnes Leefe to stay with his family in their home, Knostrop Hall, in 1879. Although there has been debate about the nature of their relationship, Grimshaw's daughter Elaine recalled her mother being deeply hurt by it. Despite this turmoil, Leefe remained living in the studio but had her meals with the family and slept upstairs in an attic bedroom. Leefe played various roles in Grimshaw's life - from model to studio assistant to governess and even lady's companion. She posed for many of his figure subjects executed in an Aesthetic Movement style reminiscent of artists like Alma Tadema and Tissot. In "Brunetta" we see Agnes Leefe depicted as Fiammetta against a backdrop of classical figures on a marble frieze intertwined with ivy vines. The garland of ivy adorning her dark curly hair symbolizes fidelity, wedded love, friendship while also representing womanhood needing protection within Victorian gendered spheres. This particular painting served as the prototype for four subsequent re-inventions by Grimshaw: "Fiammetta" "Lauretta" "A Vestal" and another unnamed version exhibited at Grosvenor Gallery. Through variations on a theme rather than refinement through sketches towards completion, Grimshaw showcased his inventive approach to landscape and figure painting. "Brunetta" stands as a testament to both his artistic talent and the enigmatic presence of Agnes Leefe throughout his work.
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