浮云路 From Fuyun Rd

The Death of Brunelleschi, painted while still a student in Frankfurt, is Leighton’s first exhibition work. It illustrates the moment from Vasari’s Lives of the Artists when Brunelleschi, architect of the dome of Florence Cathedral, takes a last look at his masterpiece. Leighton’s father, sister and friends were acting the scene for him in 1852, and strangely the dome was painted grey as if the painter had been colour-blind. Leighton met George Aitchison(1825-1910) in the following year in Rome. And since Leighton’s planning of his house from 1864, Aitchison remained his architect to embellish and extend the building with him almost till his death in 1896.

Jones & Woodward’s A Guide to the Architecture of London identifies the building as ‘very unusual’ compared to its Gothic revival contemporaries and ‘was like an Italianate villa, reflecting the style of Leighton’s own paintings.’ ‘The richly coloured interiors- red walls and black woodwork – imitated a Venetian palazzo’. It was not until 1879 that the fourth side of the palazzo court was closed with the library, the Narcissus Hall and finally, the protruded spectacular Arab Hall. Thus, the building turned to be an Italiano-Moorish hybrid, yet hybridity was in fact a Victorian obsession.

While the main influence and passion behind Leighton’s art was Italy, which was similar to Soane’s fascination a century earlier, as a Victorian, he also made numerous trips to North Africa and the Middle East, delighted by the rich colours of theses lands. Several oil landscape sketches recorded the trips, and his serendipity culminated in the purchase of the 16^th and 17^th century Damascus tiles with which the Arab Hall was initiated, conceived and decorated. Aitchison’s design was based on the Fountain Hall at the Arab-Norman palace of La Zisa in Palermo, Sicily. His work relied on the easy delights and connotations of Picturesque theory which included remoteness as a value in itself and within which being Islamic was often linked to pleasure, femininity and entertainment. Commissioned by Leighton, William de Morgan designed new tilework in an emulating manner, Boehm carved the capitals, and the mosaic frieze was created Walter by Crane. Then, Leighton’s ceramic collection had been relocated as part of the inner skin of the building, exposed but secured. Parallel to the search and creation of blue building materials by the fellows of Leighton, it is worth a note that meanwhile, William Morris(1834-1896) was studying 16^th and 17^th century herbals manual on dyeing indigo for his company’s cotton printing. And it was not until 1884, General Pitt River(1827-1900)’s souvenirs collected around the world was turned into museum collection.

Now, lined up with paintings by and collected by Leighton, the former studio-house is more like a gallery, with a gold-blue contemplation well that constantly distracts visitors’ attention. The Death of Brunelleschi, a street of Demascus, Pre-Raphalites’ paintings, Leighton’s family, friends, beloved models and souvenirs are all standing leaning against the walls, invigilating the house. They are phantasmagoria of the prince of the palace.

Jones & Woodward’s account noted some other interesting details: the window with a sliding mirrored shutter, positioned above a fireplace (the flue ingeniously concealed by an S-bend) and looking out to the garden on the ground floor.

The garden located to the rear of the Italiano-Moorish house happens not to be Anglo-Chinoisie. It was restored in 1997 to conform to the original layout and planting scheme, which included pastel flowers on lawn with big trees dotted, is open from April until the end of September (depending on weather conditions).

Located on the edge of Holland Park, Leighton House is one of the many artists’ houses of the place built during the second half of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, no other such houses are open to the public. However, if we follow Said’s ‘contrapuntal reading’, Selfridge could be the next stop after the sampling of Arabian days or nights: right this season, it is selling "Afro Chic" (clothes), which unlike the archaic fix-on-the-wall Saracenic tiles, are portable and wearable!

Reference:

0. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/LeightonHouseMuseum/General/default.asp

1. Guide to Paintings and Sculpture. London: Leighton House Museum.

2. Edward Jones & Christopher Woodward. A Guide to the Architecture of London. London: Seven Dials, Cassell & Co, 2000: 157.

3. Mark Crinson. Empire Building: Orientalism & Victorian Architecture. London & New York: Routledge, 1996.