The Sluggard

Details

Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A. (1830-1896)
The Sluggard
signed 'Fred Leighton' and with title to the front of the plinth, inscribed 'FOUNDED BY J.W. SINGERS & SONS./FROME SOMERSET' (on the plinth) and further inscribed 'PUBLISHED BY ARTHUR LESLIE COLLIE/39^B OLD BOND STREET LONDON/MAY 1^s^t 1890.' (on the plinth)
bronze with a dark green/brown patina
20 3/8 in. (51.7 cm.) high

Provenance

with The Fine Art Society, London, 1959.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

Probably inspired by his model Angelo Colorossi, seen stretching after a sitting, The Sluggard, or An Athlete Awakening from Sleep, the work's original title, was almost certainly conceived as a pendant to An Athlete Strangling a Python (1877). The full scale work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1886 and was awarded a medal of honour when it was shown at the Paris Exposition Universelle three years later. Acquired from Leighton's studio sale in 1896 by Henry Tate, the full size bronze is now in the Tate Gallery. Benedict Read suggests the subject can be seen 'as a symbol of the art of sculpture, liberated by Leighton, flexing itself for renewed activity after a long time in the shackles of convention.'

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