Three studies for ‘Flaming June’ 

Frederic Leighton sketched these studies for 'Flaming June' with chalk on brown paper, exploring the visual theme of repose. The figure's languid posture is a motif stretching back to antiquity. We see echoes of sleeping Ariadne, abandoned on Naxos, whose image, laden with pathos and sensuality, was revived in Roman sculpture. In Leighton's studies, this posture is repeated, each variation hinting at a different emotional register, from serene slumber to a melancholic withdrawal. The act of reclining carries symbolic weight. Consider its appearance in funerary art, or religious art depicting saints in ecstatic visions. It reappears across cultures, often embodying a surrender to fate, or a moment of profound introspection. It speaks to our collective memory of rest as both a physical necessity and a psychological retreat. The power of this composition engages us on a deeply rooted, subconscious level. It evokes in us the cyclical progression of such imagery and how it resurfaces and evolves through history, as the human spirit seeks solace and understanding.